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On   Mule   Back 

Thru   Central   America 

WITH  THE 

GOSPEL 


A  Thrilling  Missionary  Story 

Giving  personal  experiences  on  the  mission  field;  of  an 

unshaken   confidence  in  the  God  who  took  the 

family  to  the  field;  supported  them  while 

there;  gave  them  many  precious  souls 

for   their    hire,   and    brought 

them   back  victorious. 


SECOND    EDITION 


Copies  of  this  book  may  be  obtained  from 

MATTIE  |£RAWFORD 

Missionary  and  Evangelist 
3573  Shurtleff  Court,  Los  Angeles,  California 


Copyright,  1922,  by 
MATTIE  CRAWFORD 

(Published  in  the  United  Slates  of  America 
All  Rights  Reserved 


I  T  ->  c^  1,1  hi:  A  in' 

^  '  SANTA  BAKBARA 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


Preface  7 

A  Message  Given  to  Mc  in  Tongues  with 

Interpretation 15 

Preparing  to  Start 17 

Home  Leaving 18 

The  Church  in  Unity.   (The  Wonderful  Vision)  ....   32 

Opening  the  Way 36 

Bread  Upon  the  W^aters.   (From  Los  Angeles 

to  Nicaragua,  C.  A.)   48 

The  Stars  and  Stripes  and  Beautiful  Manzanilla  ...  59 
Salina  Cruz,  Mexico.   (My  Vision   Interpreted)  ....  04 

The  Virgin  of  the  Angels 71 

Arriving  in  Our  Port  at  Nicaragua 82 

Our  Stay  in  Matagalpa 97 

Leaving  Matagalpa  for  Leon 110 

Our  Arrival  in  Leon 13.S 

Leaving  Nicaragua  for  Panama 183 

Sailing  from  Panama 190 

The  Needs  of  Central  America 200 

The  Indians  of  Nicaragua.   (Extract  from 

Article  by  Brother  Schoenich) 212 

"Where  is  the  white  man's  Book  of  Heaven?"   . .  .  .210 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Frontispiece.  Mattie  Crawford 9 

The  Crawford  P"amily 13 

Father  N.J.  Norris,  who  paid    our   way    to  the 

Mission  Fiekl 45 

S.  S.  Curacoa  on  which  we  sailed  to  the  Mission 

Field   49 

On  Board  Ship 53 

Carl  on  bridge  of  ship  at  sea 57 

Some  natives  of  a  tribe  in  Guatemala,  C.  A 61 

"Come  over  and  help  us" 65 

Taking  their  morning  bath 69 

A  native  village    75 

Picturesque  street  scene  of  the  Port  of  Corinto, 

where  we  landed 83 

Resting  during  the  heat  of  the  day 85 

Where  they  heard  the  Gospel  for  the  first  time  ...  89 

An  Indian  hut  where  we  preached  the  Gospel   ....  93 

Indian  girls  grinding  corn  for  tortillas 95 

Alma  and  her  music  class  in  Matagalpa 99 

Washday  at  the  river  for  native  women.     Their 
only  way  to  clean  clothes  is    to  rub  them 

on  a  flat  rock 101 

Where  we  stopped  for  the  night.    Note  the  glare 

of  the  sun  on  the  white  sand 105 

Alma  and  Carl  among  the  banana  trees 107 

Leaving  Matagalpa Ill 

Leaving  in  the  early  morning  for  a  day's  journey  . .  113 

Alma  and  Carl  feeding  the  pet  deer 117 

On  our  way  through  the  mountains 119 

Carl  with  his  faithful  pony    123 


ILLUSTRATIONS,  Continued 

Bringing  coffee  down  from  the  mountain  plan- 
tations      125 

The  only  Jesus  they  know 129 

One  of  the  first  to  accept  the  Gospel 131 

Carl  and  his  father,  as  they  distributed  tracts  to 

the  Indians  by  the  roadside 135 

Street  scene  in  Leon 139 

Mother  with  child  that  was  raised  up  from  death  . .  143 

Waiting  for  the  Gospel 147 

Carl  with  his  boys ; .  151 

Where  I  preached  until  midnight,  and  the  entire 

family  was  brought  to  the  Lord 159 

Where  the  entire  family  was  brought  to  Jesus, 
and  the  mother's  hand  was  healed  of  blood 
poisoning 163 

Where    Carl    attended    native    school    to    study 

Spanish    167 

Women  coming  from  the  market  place 171 

Alma  with  her  music  class  in  Leon 175 

Alma  with  her  English  class  of  native  girls 181 

Alma  reading  a  Bible  story  to  her  girls 187 

An  Indian  woman  who  came  to  the  meeting  and 

was  saved 191 

I  am  just  a  brown-faced  Indian  girl,  but  I  want 
to  learn  to  read  God's  Word.  Will  you 
send  missionaries  to  teach  us?  There  are 
thousands  just  as  I  am 203 

One  Indian  who  found  Jesus  and  loves  his  Bible. . .   209 

An  Indian  woman  whose  attention  was  attracted 
and  picture  taken  without  her  knowledge. 
Indians  are  very  superstitious  and  are 
afraid  to  have  their  pictures  taken 217 


PREFACE 

The  days  of  miraculous  achievements  are  not  past,  as 
the  accounts  chronicled  in  this  book  will  testify.  Four 
people  make  a  missionary  trip  from  Los  Angeles,  Cal., 
down  the  coast  of  Mexico,  preaching  in  many  of  her 
towns  while  the  ship  discharges  or  loads  cargo.  They 
arrive  in  Nicaragua  and  preach  to  the  natives,  seeing 
numbers  of  them  baptized  in  the  Holy  Spirit.  Return- 
ing to  the  States  by  way  of  the  Panama  Canal,  and 
New  Orleans,  they  reach  St.  Louis  and  Granite  City, 
having  been  gone  less  than  two  years. 

Without  missionary  board,  or  other  promised  support 
whatever,  the  Lord  provided  some$3,()0{).0()  for  the  trip. 
It  is  a  testimony  to  His  faithfulness,  a  sample  of  what 
He  can  and  will  do  for  those  who  will  put  their  trust  in 
Him.  Some  might  question  the  wisdom  and  value  of 
the  shortness  of  their  stay,  but  they  moved  under  Divine 
direction.  If  any  possible  critic  had  accompanied  them 
in  their  journeyings,  and  seen  the  fire  in  the  hearts  of 
those  native  people  there  would  have  been  no  doubt  in 
their  minds  as  to  the  exceeding  profitableness  of  the 
journey  in  the  advancement  of  the  kingdom  of  God. 
Many  remote  and  scattered  people  were  reached. 
Praise  God!  They  will  be  seen  in  Heaven  because  of 
the  Gospel  message  which  they  heard. 

Then,  too,  this  sketch  of  many  happenings  will,  we 
trust,  kindle  a  flame  of  missionary  fire  in  many  hearts, 
and  give  them  a  sense  of  the  great  need  of  these  Central 
American  republics,  so  that  they,  too,  will  have  to  go, 
pray,  or  give.  Brother,  Sister,  have  you  not  some 
responsibility  toward  sending  the  Gospel  to  those  be- 
nighted people  so  long  neglected?  Let  us  not  share  in 
the  great  age-long  crime  of  the  church  in  her  neglect  of 
the  heathen.  Do  not  pass  the  time  in  mere  happy 
dreams  of  spiritual  blessings  while  the  procession  of 
your  lost  brethren  of  other  nations  tramps  on  into 
eternity  with  no  Christ.  Be  not  like  drones,  who  eat 
the  honey  but  do  nothing  for  the  advancement  of  the 
kingdom. 

Seeley  D.  Kinne. 


Affectionately  dedicated  to  my  precious  Master,  the 
Lord,  who  made  possible  this  service,  and  to  my  dear 
husband,  son,  and  daughter,  who  were  noble  sharers  in 
the  battles  and  triumphs  described. 

Oh  agony  of  wavering  thought 

When  sinners  first  so  near  are  brought. 

It  is  my  Maker — dare  I  stay? 

My  Savior — dare  I  turn  away? 
In  the  ripe  harvest  fields  the  day  is  cried, 

And  reapers  with  their  sickles  bright 
Troop,  singing,  down  the  mountain  side. 


Hint  Central  .Imcrica 


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A  MESSAGE  GIVEN  TO  ME  IN  TONGUES 

WITH  INTERPRETATION, 

March  15,  1919 

It  was  on  this  message  from  the  Lord 
that  we  went  to  the  mission  field  by  faith, 
without  any  earthly  board  behind  us,  know- 
ing that  what  God  had  promised  He  would 
perform. 

"The  time  has  come  when  I  will  send  thee  forth.  Arise! 
put  away  all  doubt  and  say  to  the  dark  clouds,  'Depart 
from  before  my  face!'  and  to  all  fear  that  may  arise  to 
stop  you  from  following  in  the  way  that  I  shall  lead  thee, 
'Flee  ye,  far  from  me,  to  return  no  more!  for  the  Lord 
my  God  hath  spoken,  and  I  shall  not  be  dismayed  nor 
put  to  shame!' 

"Begin  this  day  to  prepare  to  go  forth,  for  I  will  send 
thee  unto  the  land  to  which  I  have  called  thee,  and 
every  need  shall  be  supplied. 

"Only  be  strong  and  of  good  courage,  for  My  left 
hand  is  under  thy  head,  and  My  right  hand  doth  embrace 
thee.  Thou  shalt  sit  down  under  My  shadow  with  great 
delight,  and  My  fruit  shall  be  sweet  to  thy  taste.  I  will 
plant  thee  in  a  fruitful  land,  and  thou  shalt  bring  forth 
fruit  in  My  name,  some  thirty,  some  sixty,  and  some  an 
hundred  fold.  Do  not  fear  to  go  forth  in  My  name,  for 
I  am  thy  shield  and  thy  exceeding  great  reward.  I  Am 
that  I  Am  hath  spoken  unto  thee  this  day,  and  I  AM 
THAT  I  AM  will  go  before  thee. 

"Thou  shalt  see  of  the  travail  of  thy  soul,  and  shall 
be  satisfied,  for  thou  shalt  see  many  that  sit  in  darkness 
and  the  shadow  of  death  see  the  light  of  My  glory,  and 
come  to  praise  My  name.   For  from  the  rising  of  the  sun 


16  On  Mule  Back 

even  unto  tlie  going  down  of  the  same,  My  name  shall 
be  great  among  all  nations." 

"Would  you  like  to  know  the  sweetness 

Of  the  secret  of  the  Lord? 
Go  and  hide  beneath  His  shadow, 

This  shall  be  your  sure  reward. 
And  when'er  you  leave  the  silence 

Of  that  happy  meeting  place, 
You  must  mind  and  bear  the  image 

Of  the  Master  in  your  face." 


PREPARING  TO  START 

After  receiving  the  wonderful  message  in 
tongues,  with  its  interpretation,  teUing  us  the 
time  had  come  for  us  to  make  ready  to  go  to  the 
mission  held,  we  began  packing  our  trunks, 
putting  away  the  things  which  we  would  not 
need  during  the  summer.  We  had  been  working 
in  a  hard  field  that  winter,  the  income  had  been 
very  small,  and  poor  husband  had  worked  as 
much  as  possible,  to  get  the  children  clothes 
and  books  for  school.  But  work  was  scarce  and 
the  battle  had  been  long  and  hard,  for  we  felt 
we  must  settle  down  again  that  the  children 
might  be  in  school,  which  matter  the  Lord  had 
dealt  with  us  about  many  times  before. 

We  were  preparing  to  start  as  soon  as  the  way 
was  opened,  when  there  came  a  letter  from  a 
brother  asking  if  we  would  not  come  and  have 
some  meetings  with  them.  We  felt  led  to  go, 
and  on  arriving  found  the  revival  spirit  was  in 
the  air.  The  first  night  the  place  was  packed, 
and  the  altar  w^as  filled  with  hungry  people  seek- 
ing the  Lord.  We  were  there  three  weeks,  and 
they  certainly  were  blessed  weeks  of  victory,  for 
many  precious  souls  received  the  Baptism  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  and  many  were  healed,  and  the 
Lord  sent  in  money  for  some  clothing,  which  we 
were  all  needing  badly. 

After  the  meeting  we  returned  for  our  trunks 
and  to  prepare  for  the  trip  across  the  country 
to  California,  for  from  there  we  were  to  sail  for 
our  field  in  Central  America. 

The  livelong  night  we've  toiled  in  vain. 

But  at  Thy  gracious  word, 
I  will  let  down  the  net  again, 

To  do  Thy  will,  O  Lord. 


HOME  LEAVING 

Bidding  our  loved  ones  good-bye  we  left 
Granite  City,  Illinois,  May  29th,  1919.  We 
took  train  from  St.  Louis  at  4  P.  M.,  for  Stanton, 
Missouri,  where  God  had  definitely  led  us  to  go. 

As  the  train  sped  out  of  the  city  and  over  the 
long  stretch  of  country  beyond,  I  was  meditat- 
ing over  the  many  things  that  had  happened  at 
our  farewell.  My  dear  mother  had  said  she  did 
not  understand  this  thing,  and  my  brothers  and 
sisters  had  spoken  against  our  going  out  in  such 
a  foolish  way,  without  money  and  without  back- 
ing of  any  kind.  They  just  knew  that  we  would 
all  starve  and  die  in  that  far-off  country.  None 
of  them  being  Christians,  they  could  not  under- 
stand how  the  dear  Lord  could  supply  our  every 
need.  But  the  blessed  Holy  Spirit  had  spoken 
to  my  heart  and  said,  "You  have  left  all,  broth- 
ers, sisters,  father,  mother,  houses  and  lands  for 
My  sake,  and  the  Gospel's,  so  I  will  give  you 
brothers,  sisters,  fathers  and  mothers,  houses 
and  lands,  wherever  you  go." 

As  we  rode  on,  we  were  praying  that  God 
would  lead  us  every  step  of  the  way,  and  not  let 
us  miss  His  will  in  any  thing  we  did  or  said.  As 
I  took  some  tracts  from  my  hand  bag  to  dis- 
tribute among  the  passengers  I  noticed  a  white- 
haired  gentleman  take  a  seat  just  across  from 
us.  The  Spirit  said  to  me,  "That  is  one  of  your 
Pentecostal  brothers.  Ask  him  what  you  want 
to  know  about  the  place  to  which  you  are 
going." 


Thru  Ccniral  .luicrica  19 

We  were  not  acquainted  with  any  one  at 
Stanton,  and  had  been  wishing  that  we  could 
find  out  something  about  the  place  and  the 
people  before  we  arrived.  I  began  distributing 
the  tracts  through  the  car,  and  when  I  came  to 
this  man  he  looked  up  and  said,  "Praise  the 
Lord!"  We  had  a  blessed  time  from  there  on, 
talking  of  the  work  over  the  country,  and 
learning  of  conditions  at  Stanton. 

Arriving  at  the  station  we  bade  our  brother 
good-bye  and  got  off  the  train.  It  was  now 
quite  dark,  and  raining,  and  our  funds  were 
down  to  twenty  cents.  We  stopped  under  the 
shed  of  the  depot  long  enough  to  pray  for  lead- 
ings from  the  Lord,  for  it  was  late,  the  agent  had 
gone,  the  depot  was  closed  and  the  brother  had 
told  us  that  he  thought  most  of  the  saints  lived 
out  in  the  country.  As  we  looked  to  our 
Heavenly  Father  to  guide  us  He  directed  us  to 
a  store  on  the  hill.  The  owner  was  just  closing 
the  door  as  we  came  up.  My  husband  asked 
him  if  any  of  the  mission  people  lived  in  the  town 
and  he  said  he  did  not  know.  As  we  passed 
down  the  street  we  heard  some  one  say,  "Well, 
*Praise  the  Lord!'  Where  did  you  come  from?" 
It  was  dear  brother  Armstead.  We  had  met 
him  and  his  wife  in  some  meetings  in  St.  Louis, 
but  did  not  know  they  lived  in  Stanton.  Also 
others  were  there  whom  we  knew,  having  met 
them  in  other  places.  We  stayed  about  ten 
days  and  had  blessed  meetings.  The  blessing 
of  the  Lord  came  down  upon  our  souls,  the  dear 


20  On  Mule  Back 

little  band  of  faithful  saints  were  refreshed,  and 
the  altar  was  filled  with  those  seeking  the  Lord. 

A  remarkable  incident  occurred  here.  A 
woman  across  the  street  from  where  we  were 
having  the  meetings  became  very  much  in- 
censed at  us  because  she  thought  we  prayed  and 
sang  too  loud.  She  sent  her  children  over  to 
throw  rocks  and  sticks  at  us,  while  she  sat  in 
her  house  and  made  light  of  the  shouting.  One 
night  the  power  fell  in  a  wonderful  way  and  the 
people  were  very  happy.  This  woman  was  sit- 
ting barefoot  in  her  bedroom  reading  the  even- 
ing paper,  and  felt  something  cold  touch  her 
foot,  but  did  not  give  it  any  attention  at  first. 
Feeling  it  again  she  looked  dow^n,  and  there  was 
a  very  large  snake  coiled  ready  to  strike  her 
foot.  She  sprang  away  and  screamed,  then  ran 
to  the  meeting  crying  for  some  one  to  come  and 
kill  the  snake,  as  it  had  gotten  on  the  bed  where 
the  baby  was  asleep.  Some  of  the  brothers  went 
over,  found  the  serpent  on  the  bed,  and  killed  it. 
After  that  the  woman  felt  different  toward  us 
and  our  shouting  and  praising  the  Lord.  We 
had  been  praying  for  her  and  the  Lord  had  told 
us  He  would  take  care  of  it  all.  We  find  the 
Lord  uses  different  means  to  bring  people  to 
Himself. 

From  Stanton  we  went  to  Rolla,  Missouri. 
We  knew  no  one  in  Rolla,  or  anything  about 
the  place,  but  the  Lord  had  told  us  to  go  there, 
so  we  went.  We  just  had  money  enough  to  get 
there.  As  we  stepped  off  the  train  a  brother 
threw  his  arms  around  my  husband  and  said. 


Thru  Centra!  Awcrica  21 

"Well,  Hallelujah!  My  wife  told  me  to  come 
and  meet  this  train,  for  the  Lord  was  sending 
some  one  on  it  to  help  us  in  the  meetings  we 
have  just  started,  and  here  you  are,  just  in 
time."  They  had  opened  a  little  work  there 
and  had  been  asking  the  Lord  to  send  someone 
to  help  them,  so  He  had  sent  us,  bless  His  dear 
Name!  He  also  sent  the  Holy  Spirit,  for  we  had 
a  wonderful  time.  One  of  the  hard  fighters  of 
Pentecost  received  the  Baptism,  and  many 
others  were  blessed  in  their  souls,  and  some  were 
healed  in  their  bodies. 

From  Rolla  we  went  to  Springfield,  Missouri, 
and  stayed  over  Sunday  with  the  dear  saints 
there,  having  a  refreshing  time  for  our  souls,  and 
a  rest  for  our  bodies.  From  there  we  went  to 
Everton,  Missouri,  where  we  had  been  led  to 
hold  some  meetings. 

On  arriving  in  this  little  town  we  found  that 
the  only  building  there  was  for  the  meetings  had 
burned  down  the  day  before.  We  spent  the 
day  in  a  grocery  store  praying  for  a  door  to  be 
opened  for  the  Gospel,  for  we  had  been  told  it 
was  a  very  wicked  town  and  that  the  Pentecostal 
message  had  never  been  preached  there. 

In  the  evening  \\q  went  out  to  see  about  get- 
ting some  rooms  where  we  could  stay  while 
there.  Going  to  a  certain  place  we  met  the 
Presbyterian  minister.  When  he  found  that 
we  had  come  to  have  revival  meetings  he  has- 
tened to  open  his  church  to  us  and  insisted  that 
we  begin  the  services  that  night.     He  told  us 


22  On  Mule  Back 

that  he  had  been  praying  for  a  revival  as 
they  had  not  had  a  convert  in  that  town  for 
over  thirty  years,  and  that  he  hoped  we  could 
do  something  to  stir  the  people  up.  He  had  not 
asked  us  what  we  were  preaching,  as  many  others 
do  when  we  arrive  in  a  new  place.  If  he  had 
known  how  we  would  stir  up  things  in  that  dead 
town  and  that  fine  Presbyterian  church  I  don't 
know  whether  he  would  have  been  so  quick  to 
invite  us  in. 

He  rang  the  church  bell,  we  went  in  and  began 
to  sing  and  pray,  and  soon  the  crowd  came. 
Such  a  hungry-looking  lot  of  people  they  were, 
yet  they  looked  like  they  were  ready  to  run  if 
something  happened  that  they  did  not  under- 
stand. As  we  prayed  and  testified  the  glory 
settled  down  over  us.  Each  night  the  people 
moved  up  a  little  closer  to  the  fire,  and  some 
dared  to  come  up  in  the  rostrum  and  help  us 
sing.  Once  in  a  while  we  heard  a  faint  Amen 
from  the  dear  old  pastor,  and  one  night,  after 
the  Lord  had  met  us  in  a  very  sweet  and  wonder- 
ful way,  he  came  and  said,  "There  is  something 
so  different  about  you  people  from  what  we 
have  ever  seen  in  others,  Why,"  said  he,  "it  is 
no  trouble  at  all  for  you  to  pray  and  testify, 
and  there  is  something  about  these  meetings 
that  fills  my  heart  with  joy,  and  I  want  you  to 
pray  that  I  will  get  this  blessing  that  you  have, 
for  we  need   a  great  spiritual  awakening  here." 

I  felt  like  jumping  up  and  down  and  telling 
him  we  had  the  Baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and 
it  was  that  which   made   us  different  from  other 


Thru  Central  .Inicricii  23 

folks.  O  Hallelujah!  But  I  knew  wo  must 
use  wisdom  with  them,  so  left  it  to  the  Lord  to 
work  out  in  His  own  way  and  time. 

The  next  night  the  power  fell  on  Sister  Hagg, 
and  she  went  up  and  down  the  i)latform  singing 
in  the  Spirit  and  speaking  in  tongues.  We  were 
wonderfully  anointed  and  had  a  blessed  meeting. 
The  dear  people  had  never  seen  anything  like 
that  before.     They  looked  so  hungry. 

The  next  morning  the  pastor  and  his  wife 
came  to  our  rooms  and  he  said,  "I  want  this 
blessed  experience.  Pray  for  me,  and  pray  for 
my  wife's  healing."  She  w^as  deaf.  We  had  a, 
sweet  time  praying  together,  the  dear  old  pastor 
callmg  on  God  to  send  the  Holy  Spirit  into  his 
life  and  into  the  church. 

The  next  day  we  had  to  move  on  to  Kansas 
City.  But  I  am  sure  there  was  a  work  done 
and  seed  sown  in  Everton  that  will  bring  forth 
fruit.  The  people  came  to  bid  us  good-bye, 
saying  they  were  so  glad  we  had  come  and 
brought  them  the  light  of  Pentecost. 

At  the  depot  we  were  told  the  price  of  our 
tickets  was  $20.  We  found  we  were  short  of 
that  amount  by  $4.20.  We  had  only  $14.80. 
We  went  aside  and  prayed,  telling  the  Lord  He 
had  told  us  to  go  to  Kansas  City,  Missouri,  and 
now  the  train  was  arriving  and  we  did  not  have 
sufficient  money.  The  Lord  said,  "Go  to  the 
window  and  call  for  the  tickets."  We  obeyed, 
knowing  the  Lord  was  able  to  send  money  right 
straight  from  Heaven.  As  husband  received  the 
tickets    through    the   window,    the    agent    said. 


24  On  Mule  Back 

"$14.80."  We  were  soon  on  the  train  speeding 
on  our  way.  We  do  not  know  just  how  it  came 
about,  but  w^e  know  God  did  it.  Hallelujah ! 
He  makes  a  way  where  there  is  no  way,  if  we 
beheve. 

It  was  after  dark  \vhen  we  arrived  in  Kansas 
City.  We  prayed  and  asked  the  Lord  just 
where  He  wanted  us  to  go  as  we  did  not  know 
anyone  there.  He  directed  us  straight  up  a 
street.  We  walked  several  blocks,  not  knowing 
where  there  were  any  missions.  We  saw  a  nice 
little  brick  church  on  a  corner,  but  no  sign  to 
tell  about  meetings,  and  the  doors  were  closed. 
As  we  stood  there  praying,  the  Lord  told  me  to 
open  the  door  and  go  in. 

As  we  pushed  on  the  door  it  opened  into  a  ves- 
tibule. From  there  some  steps  led  into  the  audi- 
torium through  another  door.  We  heard  some 
one  saying,  *'Praise  the  Lord!''  and  knew  they 
must  be  Pentecostal  people.  A  brother  came  with 
outstretched  hands  to  greet  us,  asking,  "Where 
did  you  come  from?"  It  was  dear  Brother 
Huff  from  Chicago,  who  was  in  charge  of  the 
mission.  W^e  had  a  blessed  time  together  prais- 
ing God  and  seeing  souls  brought  in  and  bap- 
tized in  the  Spirit.  We  were  also  blessed  with 
Brother  Scott  in  the  mission  in  Kansas  City, 
Kansas,  and  with  his  saints. 

We  then  went  on  to  Topeka,  Kansas,  by  the 
direction  of  the  Lord.  We  never  went  anywhere 
until  we  had  prayed  and  received  instructions 
from  the  Lord.  Most  of  the  time  He  spoke 
through  my  lips  the   name  of  the    next  place, 


Thru  Central  Aiucricd  25 

even  telling  us  when  to  go,  and  what  train  to 
take.  Oh,  the  lilcssedness  of  the  sweet  Holy 
Spirit  flowing  in  and  upon  our  souls  till  we  are 
lost  in  Him. 

"He  leadeth  me,  oh,  blessed  thought." 

We  arrived  in  Topeka,  knowing  nothing  of 
the  missions  there  or  how  to  find  them.  As  we 
were  walking  down  a  street  the  Lord  said,  "Ask 
that  boy  w^here  the  mission  is."  He  was  the 
son  of  one  of  the  saints,  and  lived  near  the 
mission.  We  were  at  that  mission  two  weeks 
and  had  a  precious  time. 

The  Lord  provided  for  us  to  travel  to  Colo- 
rado Springs  with  Sister  Bowers  in  her  car. 
Many  were  the  times  and  ways  God  showed  His 
might}'  arm  out-stretched  toward  us.  We  started 
wath  very  little  money  to  buy  food  and  gasoline, 
or  to  pay  for  repairs  for  the  car.  But  He  pro- 
vided for  all. 

One  morning  as  we  were  crossing  a  bridge, 
some  drunken  men  ran  their  car  into  ours, 
throw^ing  it  over  the  edge  of  the  bridge  which 
had  no  rail,  the  bridge  being  a  new  one  and 
not  completed.  Our  machine  hung  out  over  the 
w^ater  fifty  feet  below.  But  as  we  went  o\'er 
the  edge  the  power  came  upon  us  all,  and  we 
began  speaking  in  tongues.  The  glor\'  of  (hk\ 
came  down  like  a  great  white  cloud,  and  the 
machme  was  picked  up  and  set  in  the  middle  of 
the   bridge  without  a  vScratch  on   us  or  on   it. 

Another  time  when  we  came  into  a  town  we 
were  told  that  the  road  ahead  was  impassable; 


26  On  Mule  Back 

that  twenty  cars  had  been  pulled  out  of  the 
place  where  the  water  covered  the  road  for 
about  a  mile.  We  asked  the  Lord  if  we  should  go 
on  or  not.  He  said  we  should  go  on,  and  if  we 
believed  we  should  see  the  glory  of  God.  As  we 
approached  the  water,  which  came  up  to  the 
doors  of  the  machine,  and  with  great  ditches 
on  either  side,  filled  with  water,  we  could  not 
see  where  the  road  was,  nor  where  the  ditches 
were.  The  power  came  down  over  the  machine, 
and  we  all  began  to  sing  in  tongues.  Sister 
Bowers'  hands  went  up  in  the  air,  and  never 
touched  the  wheel  till  we  were  over  the  place, 
about  a  mile  in  length.  The  mud  and  water 
did  not  even  splash  the  wind  shield  or  machine 
anywhere. 

"We  will  rejoice  in  Thy  salvation,  and  in 
the  name  of  God  we  will  set  up  our  banners. 
The  Lord  fulfil  all  thy  petitions."— Psalm 
20:5. 

We  stopped  at  several  places  on  the  way  and 
held  meetings.  We  also  gave  out  tracts  and 
papers,  filling  the  rural  mail  boxes  along  the 
highways  with  gospel  literature.  Each  morning 
we  cooked  our  breakfast  and  had  our  morning 
worship  by  the  roadside,  then  went  on  our  way 
praising  God  for  all  His  goodness  in  permitting 
us  to  preach  His  glorious  gospel. 

One  night  when  we  were  sleeping  out  on  the 
open  prairie — as  we  were  too  heavily  loaded 
to  carry  a  tent — there  came  up  a  terrible  storm. 
The  wind  blew  at  a  terrific  gale  and  the  thunder 


Thru  Central  America  '  17 

and  lightning  were  awful.  We  were  fast  asleep 
when  a  large  coyote  came  near  and  began  his 
loud  barking,  evidently  sent  by  the  Lord  to 
awaken  us  just  in  time  to  see  our  clothes  and 
hats  sweeping  across  the  plain  before  the  herce 
wind.  We  ran  after  them,  and  prayed  the  Lord 
to  stop  the  storm,  telling  Him  He  had  promised 
us  that  it  shotild  not  rain  on  us.  Then  the  wind 
stopped,  also  the  thimder  and  lightning,  and  we 
had  nice  dry  weather  the  rest  of  the  way. 

Arriving  in  Colorado  Springs,  we  were  wel- 
comed by  the  dear  pastor  and  peoi:)le.  rhe>' 
had  a  nice  assembly,  and  the  Lord  sweetly 
worked  the  few  days  we  were  there. 

Some  people  from  the  plains  came  asking  us 
to  come  and  hold  meetings  for  them  in  a  school- 
hotise.  They  had  never  heard  Pentecost 
preached,  excepting  one  woman  who  had  read 
some  about  it  and  was  hungry  for  the  Baptism. 
We  found  the  whole  country  Free  Methodist, 
and   they  said   they  had   the    Hoh'  Spirit. 

We  had  meetings  ev^ery  night  for  about  a  week, 
everybody  sitting  back  and  looking  on.  On 
Sunday  we  were  invited  to  the  home  of  some  of 
the  leading  people  for  dinner.  After  we  had 
eaten,  someone  went  to  the  j^iano  and  l)egan 
playing  a  hymn,  and  we  started  to  sing.  Soon 
we  heard  a  terrible  n(Mse.  Looking  around  we 
saw  the  man  of  the  house  laid  out  in  the  middle 
of  the  floor,  shaking  from  head  to  foot  under  the 
power  of  God.  In  fact  his  feet  were  Uj)  in  the  air 
and  his  whole  body  was  shaking  \iolentl\'.  His 
wife  and  the  people  were  running  out  after  water 


28  On  Mule  Back 

to  throw  on  him.  But  we  told  them  it  was  the 
power  of  God,  and  they  must  leave  him  alone. 
They  declared  he  had  a  spell  with  his  heart  and 
was  dying,  but  we  kept  on  singing  and  holding 
on  in  prayer  till  he  came  through. 

The  news  spread  all  over  the  country,  and 
that  night  all  the  rigs  and  autos  for  many  miles 
around  were  there  bringing  the  people  to  see  the 
strange  sights.  While  we  were  singing,  the 
daughter  of  this  same  man  arose,  came  to  the 
altar  and  fell  under  the  power.  The  fire  spread 
over  the  house,  God  working  in  a  wondrous  way. 
Some  said  it  was  the  power  of  God,  others  said 
we  were  hypnotizing  the  people,  and  that  was 
what  made  them  fall.  The  whole  country  was 
stirred,  and  many  heard  the  last-day  message 
of  the  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  prepare 
the  people  for  the  coming  of  the  Lord.  We 
still  receive  letters  from  these  people.  They 
are  holding  on  to  God,  and  He  is  blessing  them. 

We  also  visited  with  dear  Brother  and  Sister 
Roper  and  their  sister  Stout,  at  Immanuel  Faith 
Home,  in  Pueblo.  This  is  a  school  for  orphan 
children,  and  a  faith  home  where  saints  and 
missionaries  can  come  and  rest  for  a  while.  We 
were  there  for  a  week,  and  those  were  days  of 
great  blessing  and  refreshings  from  the  Lord. 
These  dear  saints  have  opened  that  wonderful 
work  in  faith,  looking  to  God  to  supply  every 
need,  and  surely  He  has  done  according  to  His 
promise.  The  way  we  saw  God  work  there  in 
answering  prayer  was  far  beyond  anything  we 
had  ever  witnessed  before,  and  the  way  the  dear 


Thru  Central  America  ,  3J 

little  children  were  taught  to  pray  and  trust 
God  for  their  needs  was  blessed. 

From  there  we  went  in  the  machine  to  Den\er, 
where  w^e  spent  two  weeks  at  the  cami^-meetint:;. 
How  the  blessing  of  the  Lord  did  come  down  on 
our  souls!  We  were  greatly  refreshed  and  our 
faith  was  quickened.  The  latter  was  needed,  for 
we  w^ere  going  to  the  mission  field  by  faith, 
looking  to  the  Lord  alone  to  supply  every  need. 

The  camp-meeting  w^as  coming  to  a  close  and 
the  tents  were  being  taken  down,  but  we  did  not 
know^  where  w^e  w^ere  to  go  next.  As  I  was  pack- 
ing the  suit-cases,  and  getting  ready  to  leave,  the 
Lord  said  to  me,  "Arrange  your  clothes,  for  you 
will  go  to  Los  Angeles  in  a  few  days." 

Offerings  had  been  small  and  expenses  heavy, 
so  w^e  had  but  little  money,  therefore  we  did  not 
see  how  w^e  could  get  to  Los  Angeles.  But 
never  mind.  "The  natural  man  receiveth  not 
the  things  of  God."  Don't  reason,  but  believe. 
As  I  walked  out  by  the  lake,  and  saw  the  pretty 
little  fish  so  at  home  in  the  beautiful  water, 
without  a  care,  for  God  took  care  of  them.  He 
spoke  to  my  heart,  and  said,  "Not  a  worry,  for 
as  I  made  this  beautiful  crystal  lake  for  the 
fish,  so  I  have  made  a  great  and  beautiful  wa>- 
for  My  children.  And  just  as  the  fish  swim 
through  the  water  and  drink  it,  so  My  little 
children  shall  live  and  move  in  Me."  "For  in 
Him  we  live  and  move  and  have  our  being." 

Just  then  three  women  came  up  in  a  machine 
and    stopped    near    where     I     was.      All    were 


30  On  Mule  Back 

strangers  to  me,  but  the  Spirit  said,  "Join  your- 
self to  them."  I  went  over  and  spoke  to  them, 
asking  if  they  were  Christians.  They  said  they 
were,  and  were  wanting  to  see  me.  They  had 
heard  me  speak  the  night  before,  and  wanted  to 
see  more  of  me.  When  I  bade  them  good-bye 
one  of  them  went  with  me  to  my  tent.  She 
said  she  had  some  of  the  Lord's  money  for  me, 
but  did  not  know  how  to  find  me,  as  the  camp 
was  breaking  up  and  everyone  was  going  away, 
but  she  had  been  directed  back  to  the  camp- 
ground. "Give  me  your  address  on  the  mission 
field,"  she  vsaid,  "as  I  am  to  help  support  you 
there."  Besides  what  she  gave  me  at  the  camp- 
meeting,  she  was  one  of  our  main  supports  on 
the  field,  sending  her  offerings  in  no  small  sums. 

We  then  went  to  Colorado  Springs  with  a 
brother  in  his  auto.  All  the  way  the  Lord  kept 
saying  to  me,  "You  will  leave  for  Los  Angeles 
soon  after  arriving  at  the  Springs."  As  we 
must  have  $100.00  more  for  our  tickets,  we  did 
not  know  how  it  was  going  to  work  out.  When 
we  went  to  the  post  ofifice  we  received  a  letter 
from  a  brother  in  Kansas  with  a  check  for 
$100.00.  In  the  letter  he  said,  "I  supposed  you 
were  in  California,  but  as  I  was  writing  this 
check  I  was  led  to  send  it  to  Colorado  Springs. 
Hope  you  receive  it  o.  k."  So  here  was  the  rest 
of  our  fare.  Just  as  God  had  said,  w^e  were  to 
go  to  California.  He  had  the  money  right  on 
hand,  bless  His  name!  After  buying  our  tickets 
and  a  little  lunch,  we  had  $3  left.  We  praised 
the  Lord  we  were  on  our  way  to  the  mission 


Thru  Central  America^  31 

field,  to  tell  the  heathen  of  this  Avonflcrfiil  sal- 
vation. 

As  the  train  pulled  out  of  the  station,  a  little 
sister  who  had  been  very  kind  to  us  threw  %-\  in 
at  the  window. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  UNITY 

The  Wonderful  Vision 

We  passed  through  Royal  Gorge,  and  over 
the  mountains,  reaching  the  highest  point  just 
as  the  sun  was  sinking  behind  the  western  hills. 

They  call  it  "The  Top  of  the  World."  There 
is  a  post  office  there  where  tourists  mail  folders 
and  cards  to  all  parts  of  the  country,  describing 
the  beautiful  scenery.  Here  is  the  Arkansas 
River,  dividing  at  an  elevation  of  10,000  feet, 
running  two  ways,  growing  wider  and  wider  as  it 
flows  down  the  mountain  beside  the  railroad. 
I  sat  looking  out  the  window  at  the  stream  which 
waters  the  fields  all  along  the  sides  of  the  moun- 
tains and  in  the  valleys.  The  water  is  conducted 
through  great  flumes  running  in  all  directions, 
even  carrying  the  water  up  hill  in  some  places. 

The  scene  faded  before  my  eyes,  and  in  its 
place  I  saw  a  great  desert,  O,  so  big  and  barren! 
There  was  nothing  but  bits  of  thorny  cactus 
growing  here  and  there.  The  sand  was  dry 
and  parched.  Far  out  in  the  middle  of  the 
desert  there  was  an  old  house.  It  was  only  a 
shack.  The  roof  boards  were  so  old  and 
weather  beaten  they  were  curling  up  at  the  ends. 
The  sides  were  beginning  to  fall  away  from  the 
roof.  The  door  was  small  and  falling  off  the 
hinges.  There  seemed  not  one  ray  of  hope  for 
the  little  old  shack  so  far  away  in  the  desert. 
The  winds  of  many  centuries  had  beaten  upon 
its  sides.     It  was  ready  to  fall. 


Thru  Central  .liiicrica  33 

As  I  looked  far  awa\-  on  every  side  I  saw 
nothing  but  hot  dry  sand.  ()\er  the  sand  ranie 
a  man.  He  was  weary,  and  the  hot  sun  beat 
fiercel}'  upon  his  bare  head.  As  he  came  nearer 
I  saw  he  was  reading  a  Bible.  He  was  so  inter- 
ested in  it  that  he  looked  not  to  the  right  or  left. 
His  face  was  right  down  in  the  Book.  Behind 
him  came  another,  and  still  another,  until  there 
was  a  great  comj^any  of  people,  thousands  of 
them,  both  men  and  women.  All  had  their 
faces  buried  in  the  Bible.  They  were  entering 
the  little  old  shack,  passing  in  one  by  one.  I 
wondered  at  so  many  i)eople  being  able  to  get 
into  so  small  a  house.  But  soon  I  discovered 
that  the  house  was  enlarging.  The  door  be- 
came new  and  swung  upright  on  new  hinges. 

As  far  as  I  could  see  across  the  plain  peoj:)le 
were  coming.  Each  one's  face  was  down  in  the 
Word  of  God.  They  were  all  moving  toward 
and  into  the  house,  now  no  longer  a  dilapidated 
shack  but  becoming  a  great  strong  Ijuilding. 
The  roof  was  now  of  new  material,  of  such  a 
bright  red  color  that  my  eyes  could  not  look  upon 
it.  The  sides  had  become  new.  From  the  door 
clear  water  was  beginning  to  flow.  I  could  see 
the  sands  of  the  desert  carried  before  it  as  it 
went  down  and  out  of  the  building.  Then  the 
w^ater  burst  forth  from  all  sides  of  the  house, 
till  all  but  the  roof  was  clear,  crystal  water. 

The  water  spread  over  the  desert,  until  it  had 
become  a  mighty  river  covering  the  whole 
country,  and  people  of  every  nation  came  run- 
ning to  it.     The  great  house  in  the  center  was 


OPENING  THE  WAY. 

Arriving  in  Salt  Lake  City  at  noon  the  next 
day,  we  were  told  the  train  we  should  take  for 
Los  Angeles  did  not  carry  chair  cars,  so  we 
would  have  to  wait  for  a  train  that  left  at  mid- 
night. We  were  very  tired  from  our  long  train 
ride  and  went  aside  in  the  station  to  rest.  I  lay 
down  on  a  couch  in  the  ladies'  rest  room,  but 
just  as  I  had  settled  down  for  rest  the  Lord  said 
to  me,  "Go  and  buy  your  berth  on  this  train, 
for  it  will  be  the  last  train  through."  I  did  not 
know  what  it  meant,  but  I  did  not  doubt  the 
voice  of  God  that  had  spoken  to  me  so  many 
times  in  the  fifteen  years  I  have  been  saved. 

I  went  to  my  husband  and  told  him,  and 
together  we  went  to  the  Pullman  ticket  ofiice. 
The  agent  said,  "I  have  not  a  berth  left.  The 
train  is  full  and  leaves  in  fifteen  minutes."  I 
told  him  the  Lord  had  said  we  were  to  go  on 
that  train,  and  there  must  be  a  place  somewhere 
for  us.  He  said  he  knew  he  had  not  a  berth  left. 
I  said  we  must  have  two  upper  berths,  as  we 
did  not  have  sufficient  money  for  lower  berths. 
The  $4  given  by  the  little  sister  in  Colorado 
Springs  as  our  train  was  leaving  and  the  $3.00 
we  had  was  all  we  had  for  the  berths.  Just 
then  a  man  stepped  up  and  said  there  were  two 
upper  berths  left,  as  some  people  had  decided 
not  to  go  on  that  train.  "Well,"  said  the  agent, 
"I  guess  they  are  for  you,  but  3^ou  will  have  to 


Thru  Central  America  Z7 

hurry,  as  the  train  is  ready  to  i^xj."  Entering 
the  coach  we  found  the  two  berths  were  together. 
How  the  Lord  does  plan  for  His  children,  open- 
ing doors  which  no  man  can  shut.    Hallelujah! 

As  we  neared  the  California  border  the  strike 
came  on  that  paralyzed  all  street-car  and  train 
service  for  ten  days.  Three  times  the  men 
w^ere  about  to  leave  our  train  out  on  the  desert. 
But  we  prayed,  and  God  took  the  train  through 
to  Los  Angeles.  Other  trains  that  started  were 
forsaken  by  the  trainmen  and  hundreds  of  people 
were  left  in  the  desert  without  food  or  water. 
Relief  was  sent  to  them  by  auto  trucks,  and  they 
came  through  in  that  way.  But  God  spoke  to 
us,  and  we  obeyed,  and  went  on  the  last  train 
that  got  through  for  over  ten  days. 

How  God  does  care  for  His  own!  We  w^ere 
going  out  as  missionaries  and  He  wanted  to 
teach  us  lessons  of  faith.  That  is  why  He  took 
us  along  with  just  enough  money  for  one  trip  at 
a  time.  Many  times  we  were  without  money  or 
had  but  little.  Then,  He  would  tell  us  not  to 
look  at  our  little  means,  but  to  look  to  Him, 
with  Heaven's  great  storehouse  full  for  all  who 
would  believe.  **The  just  shall  live  by  faith." 
The  new  creature  in  Christ  Jesus  becomes  heir 
to  ALL  His  riches  in  glory.  "O  the  depth  of 
the  riches  both  of  the  wisdom  and  knowl- 
edge of  God!  how  unsearchable  are  His 
judgments,  and  His  ways  past  finding 
out!"     Rom.  11:33. 

We  arrived  in  Los  Angeles  with  se\enty-five 
cents.     The  taxi  man  asked  $4  to  take   us  to 


40  On  Mule  Back 

Many  things  God  did  there  that  strengthened 
our  faith  and  prepared  us  for  the  hfe  of  faith  on 
the  mission  field. 

After  the  camp-meeting  we  rented  a  Httle 
apartment  where  w^e  might  five  and  make  ready 
for  our  trip,  for  there  was  sewing  to  be  done  and 
things  to  be  made  ready.  We  were  expecting  to 
sail  about  the  first  of  October.  But  one  day, 
as  we  were  praying  about  w^hen  we  should  sail,' 
the  Lord  said,  "You  will  sail  about  the  first  of 
the  year."  We  thought  that  was  a  long  time 
off,  and  did  not  understand  why  we  were  to 
wait  so  long.  Going  to  the  steamship  office  we 
learned  that  the  port  of  Corinto,  w^here  w^e  were  to 
land,  was  under  quarantine  for  yellow  fever,  and 
had  been  for  several  months,  but  the  ban  would 
be  lifted  about  the  first  of  the  year,  and  it  was. 

They  were  precious  months  that  followed. 
Everything  that  we  needed  had  to  be  prayed  in 
— trunks,  suitcases,  clothing,  everything  came 
in  answer  to  prayer. 

While  in  San  Francisco  I  was  very  busy  in 
meetings  and  had  many  letters  to  write.  Sister 
Kerr  said,  "Ask  the  Lord  to  give  you  a  type- 
writer to  take  with  you."  "Oh,"  I  said,  "I  could 
never  have  faith  for  a  typewriter,  as  I  could  get 
along  without  that,  and  need  so  many  other 
things."  While  I  w^as  praying  in  my  room  the 
Lord  said  to  me,  "You  can  have  faith  for  a 
typewriter.  Ask  for  one,  and  you  shall  have  it." 
I  said,  "Lord,  I  do  not  know  how  to  use  a  type- 
wTiter."  He  told  me  that  when  I  went  back  to 
Los  Angeles   I    could   go   to   night   school   and 


Thru  Central  Amcricaj  41 

learn  to  use  a  tyi)cwritor,  and  then  He  Avould 
give  me  one.  This  I  did,  and  soon  learned  liow 
to  typewrite.  Then  I  received  a  letter  from  a 
brother  enclosing  a  check  for  $50,  saying  it  was 
for  a  Corona  typewriter  to  take  to  the  mission 
field.  I  had  never  seen  the  brother  and  do  not 
know  how  he  knew  of  me,  but  God  knows.  I 
almost  ran  to  the  Corona  office  to  get  my  tyj^e- 
writer,  and  with  it  I  am  writing  this  book. 

"I  love  the  Lord,  because  He  hath  heard 
my  voice  and  my  supplications.  Because 
He  hath  inclined  His  ear  vinto  me,  there- 
fore will  I  call  vipon  Him  as  long  as  I  live." 
—Psalm  116:1,2. 

While  in  Oakland  dear  sister  Rawlins  told  me 
the  Lord  had  spoken  to  her  to  take  her  new  Singer 
sewing  machine,  go  home  with  me  to  Los  Angeles 
and  do  up  all  my  sewing.  Here  again  was  the 
dear  loving  hand  of  my  Heavenly  Father.  He 
said  He  would  give  me  mothers  and  brothers  and 
sisters.  This  dear  sister  was  truly  a  mother  to 
me.  She  came  with  me,  did  up  the  sewing, 
and,  as  we  were  packing  ready  to  leave  for  the 
mission  field,  and  she  to  return  to  Oakland,  she 
gave  me  the  machine  to  take  with  me.  How 
sweet  that  God  has  so  many  precious  children 
who  are  ready  to  lay  down  their  lives  for  the 
Gospel.  We  may  not  all  be  called  to  go,  but 
we  all  can  do  our  part.  God  bless  ever>'  one 
who  has  given  so  freely  and  made  it  possible 
for  the  missionaries  to  go.  As  I  think  of  the 
many  things  and  the  moncN'  that  ha\'e  been 
given  by  the  dear  children  of  God,  it  makes  me 


44  On  Mule  Back 

something  wrong.  God  does  not  want  you  to 
go  now."  But  we  quietly  praised  God.  He 
had  spoken,  and  it  was  so.  Like  Paul,  we 
thanked  God  and  took  courage,  when  it 
seemed  that  everything  was  against  us  on  every 
side,  and  the  darkest  hour  was  there.  Then 
came  dear  Brother  Norris  from  San  Bernardino, 
California.  He  said  the  Lord  had  sent  him  to 
pay  our  fares.  So  he  went  down  and  paid  for 
our  tickets  and  excess  baggage. 

Why  did  we  have  this  test?  It  was  just  one 
more  lesson  for  us  to  learn.  We  must  come  to 
the  place  where  we  know  the  voice  of  the  Lord 
and  there  must  be  no  mistake  about  it.  He 
wants  us  to  know  beyond  the  shadow  of  a  doubt. 
We  are  in  dark  days  and  there  are  many  spirits 
to  deceive.  We  must  know  the  voice  of  God, 
and  then,  no  matter  how  impossible  it  may 
seem,  follow  His  voice. 

Many  were  the  tests  and  trials  we  passed 
through,  but  glorious  was  the  victory  He  gave 
in  the  end. 


Thru  Central  America  i 


45 


Father  N.  J.  Norris,  who  paid  our  wav  to  the  Mission  field 


BREAD  UPON  THE  WATERS 
From  Los  Angeles  to  Nicaragua,  G.  A. 

We  sailed  from  Los  Angeles,  on  the  S.  S. 
Curacao,  January  12th,  1920.  After  five  days 
we  arrived  at  the  port  of  Matzalan,  Mexico. 
The  first  sight  of  the  city  was  the  large  cathedral 
on  the  hill.  Our  boat  came  to  anchor,  and  as 
it  was  to  stay  a  whole  day,  we  took  a  launch  and 
went  ashore. 

The  city  was  very  beautiful,  nestling  in  the 
valley,  surrounded  by  mountains  and  sea.  The 
beach  was  thronged  with  bathers.  The  streets 
and  courts  were  lined  with  tropical  flowers, 
palm  and  cocoanut  trees.  The  sun  was  so  warm 
that  we  were  soon  persuaded  to  remove  our 
coats  and  sweaters,  and  we  stepped  into  a  hotel 
court  to  rest. 

We  noticed  one  beggar  after  another  coming 
in  and  asking  alms.  Going  out  into  the  streets 
again  we  noticed  they  seemed  to  be  filled  with 
poor,  ragged,  barefoot  people  begging.  On  in- 
quiry we  were  told  this  was  "Beggars'  Day," 
when  the  poor  came  out  and  received  help. 

As  we  sat  m  the  plaza  and  saw  all  the  sin  and 
wickedness  around  us,  we  were  reminded  of 
Paul's  experience  at  Athens.  His  spirit  was 
stirred  when  he  saw  the  city  wholly  given  to 
idolatry,  and  found  the  altar  with  the  inscrip- 
tion, "To  the  unknown  God."  Truly  our  spirits 
were  stirred  when  we  saw  the  high  spires  on  the 
cathedral,   and  the  altar    within,  and  realized 


7'lini  i'riilrdi  .  1  iiirricci 


49 


o       -** 

o    ::i 


00 


14 


Thru  Central  America  51 

that  God  was  not  known  to  the  people.  The 
many  beggars  were  a  striking  picture  of  the 
great  need  of  the  w^hole  city.  The  beggars' 
dirty  rags  told  of  their  need  of  the  robes  of 
righteousness.  Their  bare  feet  showed  the  need  of 
being  shod  wuth  the  preparation  of  the  Gospel  of 
Peace,  for  truly  they  had  no  peace.  Many  of 
them  were  blind,  and  surely  they  were  blind  to 
the  truth.  Beggars  would  come  and  touch  us, 
and  ask  alms.  Like  Peter  and  John,  silver  and 
gold  we  did  not  have,  but  we  could  tell  them  of 
Jesus,  and  we  did  so.  But  they  were  so  blind 
and  deaf  they  did  not  seem  to  know  what  we 
were  talking  about. 

We  were  taken  by  a  gentleman  in  a  carriage 
to  see  the  places  of  interest  in  the  city,  which 
were  many.  Then  we  returned  to  the  ship,  but 
found  it  would  not  be  ready  to  sail  for  some  time 
yet.  We  seated  ourselves  on  the  deck  and 
watched  the  many  boats  and  launches  that 
covered  the  waters.  The  wind  was  strong  and 
the  waves  ran  high.  We  saw  a  small  row-boat 
with  two  men  in  it,  rowing  hard  for  the  shore. 
It  made  me  think  of  the  great  mass  of  people 
here  who  were  being  tossed  by  the  waves  of  sin. 

^'Captain,  Lower  the  Gang-Plank 
for  I  am  Coming." 

Then  the  Spirit  gave  me  a  picture  of  the  sin- 
ner as  the  small  boat  tossed  to  and  fro  by  the 
high  waves  of  sin.  The  large  steamer,  with  all 
her  passengers,  very  peaceful,  and  with  no  toil- 
ing to  keep  afloat,  represented  the  children  ot 


52  On  iMulc  Back 

God  with  all  His  cargo  of  love  and  grace  in  their 
souls.  They  did  not  have  to  work  to  keep 
saved,  but  He  saved  them  and  they  were  at 
home  on  the  waters  of  His  love.  I  seemed  to 
hear  the  Lord  say  that  as  the  waters  of  this 
mighty  ocean  could  come  in  on  that  little  boat, 
and  sink  it  beneath  its  waves,  never  again  to  be 
found,  even  so  His  great  love  for  the  sinner  could 
come  in  on  his  frail  bark  of  sin,  swallow  it  up, 
and  sink  it  in  the  sea  of  forgetfulness,  never 
again  to  be  found. 

Darkness  began  to  settle  over  the  waters- 
The  whistle  had  blown,  the  gang  plank  been 
pulled  in,  and  the  vessel  was  slowly  moving  away. 
Suddenly  we  heard  a  cry  coming  over  the  waves, 
"Captain,  lower  the  gang  plank,  for  I  am 
coming."  In  the  dim  evening  light  we  could 
see  a  man  standing  in  the  launch  that  was  com- 
ing as  fast  as  it  could.  Again  the  cry  came, 
"Captain,  lower  the  gang  plank,  for  I  am 
coming."  It  was  our  freight  clerk,  who  had 
been  ashore,  drinking  and  indulging  in  sin,  until 
he  had  almost  missed  his  opportunity  to  get  on 
board.  But  at  the  captain's  command  they 
lowered  the  gang  plank,  the  clerk  jumped  on  it 
and  came  on  board. 

To  me  this  taught  a  lesson.  The  big  ship 
Salvation  has  pulled  into  the  harbor  of  the 
needy,  the  needy  one  comes  in  his  little  row- 
boat  of  trouble  and  cries  for  help,  and  the  gang 
plank,  the  Gospel  of  love,  is  let  down  to  him,  and 
he  jumps  on  and  is  saved.  So,  as  we  go  among 
these  needy  people,  in  their  little  old  row-boats 


Thru  Central  .Inirricci 


53 


On  Board  Ship 


TJint  Central  America'  55 

toiling  on  the  angry  waters  of  sin,  we  hope  to 
see  the  dear  old  Gospel  ship  of  Zion  pull  into 
many  a  harbor,  and  lower  the  gang  plank  of 
love  and  mercy,  and  see  people  jumping  on  and 
coming  aboard  for  the  glory-land.  For  truly, 
Jesus  is  coming  soon,  and  what  we  do  we  must 
do  quickly,  ere  they  perish. 

At  another  port  we  had  to  wait  a  da\'  for  the 
unloading  of  cargo.  Alany  nati\es  came  to  the 
ship  to  sell  birds  and  different  things,  and  we  had 
a  wonderful  opportunity  to  give  out  the  \\'ord  of 
God  to  them.  How  eager  they  were  to  hear  of 
the  love  of  God  to  save  them.  One  old  man 
came  up  out  of  his  little  boat  and  said.  "Are 
there  many  people  in  your  country  who  know 
about  this  great  God,  and  how  He  sent  His  Son 
to  die  for  us?"  We  told  him  there  were  man>' 
who  knew  about  it.  Then  he  said,  "Why  dcjn't 
they  come  and  tell  us  about  it  and  help  us  to 
find  Him."  We  were  speechless,  for  we  knew 
there  were  few  who  would  leave  all  to  tell  them 
of  Jesus  and  His  power  to  save. 

"ril  Be  Waiting  for  You  When  Your 
Ship  Returns." 

Several  little  b()\s  came  on  board  from  the 
many  boats  and  lighters,  and  placed  with  (^irl. 
He  brought  out  his  little  train,  that  ran  on  a 
track.  They  had  never  seen  an\thing  like  that 
before,  so  they  spent  the  day  whh  him.  We  gave 
each  one  tracts  and  a  Testament  to  carry  home. 
How  their  little  dark  faces  did  shine  with  delight 
when  we  told  them  of  the  love  of  Jesus  for  e\ery 


56  On  Mule  Back 

one  of  them,  and  how  God  had  sent  us  to  tell 
the  people  to  get  ready,  for  He  was  soon  coming 
back  to  earth.  One  little  fellow  was  very  much 
interested,  asking  many  questions  about  the 
Bible  and  the  tracts  we  had  given  him. 

Just  then  the  bell  rang,  and  orders  were  given 
for  every  visitor  to  get  off,  for  the  ship  was  ready 
to  go.  As  this  dear  little  fellow  took  Carl's  hand 
and  shook  it  he  said,  "I  will  be  waiting  for 
you  when  you  come  back.  I  will  wait  every 
day  till  I  see  this  ship  return,  and  then  you 
can  tell  me  more  about  Jesus  and  how  to 
find  this  peace  you  have." 

He  rowed  away  in  a  small  boat,  and,  as  far  as 
we  could  see,  we  saw  his  little  hand  waving,  and 
heard  him  saying,  "I  will  be  waiting  for  you 
when  you  come  back." 

How  we  wept,  for  we  knew  we  would  not  come 
that  way  again,  and  realized  that  the  little 
fellow  might  never  again  hear  the  Gospel.  Shall 
we  fail  to  go  to  them  with   the   bread   of  life? 


Thru  Central  .hiicrica' 


57 


Carl  on  bridge  of  ship  at  sea 


THE  STARS  AND  STRIPES  AND 
BEAUTIFUL  MANZANILLA 

We  reached  Manzanilla  on  January  19th. 
PulHng  ourselves  up  on  the  dock  out  of  the  Httle 
boat  that  brought  us  ashore,  and  walking  a 
short  distance,  we  came  to  the  street  on  the 
water  front.  Itwasfilled  with  people 
who  had  gathered  to  see  the  ship  come  in.  With 
eager  faces  they  watched  the  unloading  of  the 
cargo.  We  thought  if  only  the  many  launches  and 
boats  that  had  gone  to  the  ship  for  passengers 
and  cargo  could  bring  messengers  and  messages 
to  this  hungry  people's  souls,  what  a  blessed 
thing  it  would  be! 

We  walked  through  the  little  city.  The  streets 
were  filled  with  barefoot  men,  women,  and 
children,  many  of  whose  clothes  were  ragged  and 
dirty.  Many  pigs  and  sick  dogs  were  roaming 
about  eagerly  hunting  food,  which  appeared  to 
be  scarce.  Our  hearts  were  touched.  As  we 
looked  up  to  Heaven  there  came  a  cry  from  my 
soul  for  the  deliverance  of  these  people. 

Our  attention  was  attracted  by  the  ringing  of 
a  bell  away  up  the  mountain  side.  There  we 
saw  a  small  white  Temple.  The  people  began 
to  swarm  up  there,  answering  the  call  of  the  bell. 
We  went  up  with  them.  As  we  stepped  inside 
the  great  iron  gate  that  is  kept  closed  at  all 
other  times,  but  was  now  opened  for  the  people 
to  enter,  we  saw  the  poor  barefoot,  ragged 
creatures  enter,  and    kneeling  down,  make  the 


60  On  Mule  Back 

sign  of  the  cross  and  worship  the  tall  image 
before  them,  then  rise  to  their  feet  and  pass 
out. 

The  floor  of  the  temple  was  dirty,  and  the 
seats  covered  with  dust.  We  were  made  to 
think  of  the  Scripture  in  Isaiah  1:6: 

"From  the  sole  of  the  foot  even  unto 
the  head  there  is  no  soundness  in  it;  but 
wounds,  and  bruises,  and  putrifying  sores; 
they  have  not  been  closed,  neither  bound 
up,  neither  mollified  with  ointment.  Your 
country  is  desolate." 

Surely  the  whole  country  is  devoid  of  the 
power  and  glory  of  the  God  who  made  them 
in  His  own  image. 

As  we  stood  there  in  the  gate  of  the  temple, 
we  saw,  high  up  on  the  mountain,  the  American 
flag  waving  in  the  ocean  breezes.  The  flag  was 
on  the  home  of  the  American  consul.  It  seemed 
to  speak  of  freedom  for  that  poor  suffering 
people. 

Oh  that  God's  children,  who  have  been 
touched  by  Divine  power  and  filled  with  God's 
love,  would  go  in  upon  the  w^ngs  of  faith  and 
prayer,  lift  the  blood-stained  banner  of  Jesus, 
and  wave  it  o'er  this  desolate  land  till  it  re- 
sounds with  the  falling  of  the  Latter  Rain,  which 
is  able  to  make  it  bud  and  bloom  and  bring 
forth  fruit  unto  eternal  life! 

Upon  returning  to  our  ship  the  burden  was 
so  heavy  on  me  that  I  fell  on  my  knees  and  cried 
to  God  to  save  these  people.  Then  the  Lord  said, 


Thru  Central  Avicrica 


61 


Thru  Central  .Imcrica  63 

"What  thou  seest,  write  in  a  book,  and 
send  it  unto  the  churches." — Rev.  1:11,  19. 

We  saw  men  with  bands  around  their  heads 
holding  great  packs  on  their  necks.  They  were 
carrying  loads  from  the  boats  which  were  bring- 
ing the  ship's  cargo  to  shore.  Truly  they  were 
pictures  of  the  spiritual  bondage  of  the  people 
staggering  under  their  burdens  of  sin,  and  with 
the  yoke  of  the  devil  on  their  necks. 

O,  my  Lord,  in  travail  of  soul  I  cry, 

That  Thou  wilt  hear  and  answer  from  the  sky, 

And  send  Thy  Holy  Spirit  down  in  power! 
O  let  it  fall,  my  Lord,  in  a  mighty  shower! 

O  save  this  people  from  the  tempter's  snare! 

Let  them  in  Thy  heavenly  glory  share — 
Save  them,  O  Lord,  from  sin  and  shame, 

That  they  may  know  the  power  of  Jesus'  name. 


SALINA  CRUZ,  MEXICO. 

My  Vision  Interpreted 

Here  God  gave  me  the  interpretation  of  the 
vision  which  I  had  when  I  was  saved,  fifteen 
years  before.  From  under  the  altar  where  I 
was  kneehng  I  saw  a  great  white  cloud  boiling 
out,  full  of  upstretched  black  hands. 

We  were  in  Mexican  waters  and  there  was 
some  trouble  at  this  port.  We  expected  to  stay 
there  about  two  days.  Everyone  was  cautioned 
to  be  careful  not  to  do  or  say  anything  that 
would  stir  up  trouble.  As  we  had  been  giving 
out  tracts  and  Bibles  at  every  port  as  we  came 
down,  we  thought  to  do  the  same  here,  but  we 
were  told  it  would  be  dangerous  to  do  so  for  it 
might  cause  a  disturbance. 

As  we  sat  there  and  saw  the  dear  people  come 
down  to  the  boat  to  sell  things,  our  hearts  were 
stirred,  for  we  saw  them  as  sheep  having  no 
shepherd.  A  group  of  fruit  peddlers  was  sitting 
near.  Taking  some  Spanish  tracts  and  Testa- 
ments, I  went  over  and  talked  to  them  as  much 
as  I  could  with  my  limited  knowledge  of  the 
language,  and  gave  them  Gospel  literature.  A 
crowd  gathered  around,  each  holding  out  a  hand 
for  tracts.  Even  the  custom  house  officers 
dressed  in  white,  as  is  customary  in  the  tropics, 
came  over.  The  people  came  running  from  all 
sides,  till  soon  I  was  pressed  upon  by  them. 
Some  flat  cars  were  standing  near.  I  climbed 
upon  one  of  these  to  get  out  of  the  press,  but 


Thru  Central  America 


65 


'   «-r  I  } 


U 


3V  ■.:■■'  Ai\'.: 


Thru  Centra!  .hiicrica  '  67 

the  people  climbed  up,  to(j,  holding  out  their 
black  hands  for  the  little  messengers.  There 
must  have  been  two  or  three  hundred  crowding 
around. 

As  I  was  up  there  on  that  flat  car  looking  down 
upon  the  poor  hungry  souls,  holding  out  their 
black  hands  for  the  Bread  of  Life,  I  began  to 
weep,  and  to  speak  in  tongues.  God  spoke 
through  me  in  Spanish  to  these  dear  hearts, 
telling  them  the  story  of  the  cross,  and  how  and 
why  Jesus  died  for  us.  It  must  have  been  an 
hour  that  I  stood  there  in  the  hot  sun,  talking 
to  them.  They  wept  and  begged  for  more 
tracts  to  carry  home  to  their  loved  ones.  One 
man,  who  could  speak  English,  said  to  me,  "We 
did  not  think  you  could  speak  our  language  so 
well,"  then  he  told  me  what  I  had  said. 

And  there  my  vision  of  the  white  cloud  full  of 
black  hands  was  interpreted.  Dressed  in  white, 
they  were  reaching  out  black  hands  for  the 
gospel.  Shall  they  call  in  vain?  Oh,  no!  We 
will  carry  to  them  the  gospel,  the  blessed  story 
of  Jesus  and  His  wonderful  love.  They,  too, 
shall  be  saved  and  ready  when  He  comes. 

In  many  places  in  Mexico  the  power  of  God 
is  falling.  In  one  place  a  Mexican  heard  the 
gospel  and  was  saved.  He  began  preaching  to 
the  people.  The  Holy  Spirit  fell,  and  about  a 
hundred  received  the  Baptism.  They  were  call- 
ing for  a  missionary  to  come  to  them.  Shall 
we  linger?     Shall  we  not  answer  these  calls? 


68  On  Mule  Back 

The  wonderful  love  of  God  is  better  far  than  gold; 

The  wonderful  lo\'e  of  God  is  better  felt  than  told; 

The  wonderful  love  of  God  so  deep,  so  full,  so  free; 

The  wonderful  love  of  God  as  fathomless  as  the  sea; 

The  wonderful  love  of  God  from  Heaven  to  earth  is 
sent; 

The  wonderful  love  of  God  for  each  poor  sinnei  is 
meant. 
Tell  it!     Sing  it!     Preach  it!     Till  all  the  earth  around 
Shall  hear  thereof,  and  God  be  found. 


Thru  Central  .Imcrica' 


60 


Taking  their  morning  bath 


THE  VIRGIN  OF  THE  ANGELS 

The  people  worship  many  different  kinds  of 
idols.  Sometimes  they  walk  hundreds  of  miles 
to  do  penance  to  some  stick  of  wood  or  piece  of 
stone  which  has  been  set  up  by  the  priests. 

We  met  one  young  man  who  told  us  he  had 
crawled  three  hundred  miles,  carrying  a  golden 
dish,  valued  at  ten  thousand  dollars.  This  idol 
to  which  he  crawled  is  in  Costa  Rica,  and  is 
called  *'The  Virgin  of  the  Angels.''  The 
people  have  been  made  to  believe  that  this  little 
image  of  black  stone,  three  and  a  half  inches 
high,  can  perform  all  sorts  of  miracles  such  as 
opening  blind  eyes,  healing  the  deaf,  and  driving 
away  evil  spirits.  The  temple  in  which  this  idol 
is  kept  was  built  at  a  cost  of  one  million  dollars. 
Once  a  year  this"\'irgin  of  the  Angels"  is  carried 
to  visit  all  the  other  santos  (saints-idols)  that 
she  may  bless  them,  and  give  them  more  power 
for  the  ensuing  year.  This  immense  temple  is 
literally  lined  with  gold  and  silver  dishes  and 
cooking  utensils  brought  there  by  the  rich  in- 
habitants of  the  country,  with  the  hope  that  the 
image  would  bless  and  heal  them.  Just  outside 
the  temple  are  stacks  of  corn,  bananas,  coffee, 
sticks  and  stones,  which  the  poor  people  ha\'e 
brought  that  they,  too,  might  have  their  sins 
taken  away  and  their  diseases  healed. 

They  are  begging  for  the  Gospel.  Their  call 
comes  to  you  and  me. 


72  On  Mule  Back 

"Come  over  and  help  us!" 

and    God    asks,      "Who    will    go    for    us?" 

Isaiah  6:8.  Who  will  leave  home,  friends, 
and  loved  ones,  and  go  out,  not  knowing  whither 
they  go?  They  will  have  to  eat  native  foods 
that  are  unclean  and  unwholesome,  and  which 
may  cause  fevers  and  various  sicknesses.  They 
may  have  to  sleep  in  old  dirty  native  huts, 
where  mosquitos,  scorpions,  bats,  and  vermin 
will  attack  them.  Nevertheless  God  is  calling 
now,  as  He  called  in  Isaiah's  day,  "WHO  WILL 
GO  FOR  LIS?"  Jesus  is  Coming  Soon!  The 
message  must  go  forth  regardless  of  the  cost. 

As  we  went  aboard  the  ship,  the  Lord  said  to 
me, 

"Cast  thy  bread  upon  the  waters." 

Many  dear  souls  were  reached  by  the  tracts  on 
the  different  vessels  upon  which  we  traveled.  To 
God  be  all  the  glory!  Eternity  alone  will  reveal 
the  number  who  received  the  Gospel  in  this  way. 
Passengers  and  crews  alike  read  the  tracts,  and 
called  for  more.  People  from  all  parts  of  the 
world  have  taken  the  little  messengers  with 
them  and  as  they  have  grasped  our  hands  with 
a  hearty  "Good-bye,  and  God  bless  you  in  your 
work,"  our  own  souls  have  been  blessed  and 
refreshed,  for  we  have  seen  the  Word  of  God,  that 
liveth  and  abideth  forever,  finding  its  way  into 
the  hearts  of  men  and  women. 

People  who  were  sick  and  afflicted,  traveling 
in  search  of  health,  have  heard  the  message  of 
healing  through   Jesus   Christ,   and   have   been 


Thru  Central  .liiirricd  ~^ 

healed,  as  we  told  them  of  the  body  of  Clirist 
that  was  broken  for  us,  and  that  by  His 
stripes  we  were  healed.  Souls  who  had  soui^ht 
comfort  and  rest  in  various  religions,  hearing 
the  story  of  the  cross,  and  of  how  Jesus  died 
that  we  might  live,  have  accepted  Him,  and 
gone  on  their  way  rejoicing. 

"Cast  thy  bread  upon  the  waters,  for  thou 
shalt  find  it  after  many  days."  lucks.  11 :1. 
We  know  that  when  we  reach  the  pearly  gates 
of  Heaven  we  shall  see  many  who  ha\'e  been  re- 
deemed from  sin,  because  they  read  and  heard 
the  Bread  of  the  Word,  which  we  cast  upon  the 
waters. 

While  we  were  giving  out  tracts  and  Testa- 
ments to  the  people  who  came  to  sell  fruit  and 
birds  in  one  port  in  Mexico,  we  met  a  Mexican 
who  had  never  heard  the  Gospel,  or  seen  a  Bible 
or  a  missionary  before.  I  gave  him  a  tract,  in 
his  own  language,  on  the  second  coming  of  the 
Lord.  He  looked  at  the  tract,  then  at  me,  and 
then  said,  "What  is  this  for?"  I  told  him  it  was 
a  tract  telling  of  the  soon  coming  of  Jesus  back 
to  this  earth  again.  I  could  not  speak  or  under- 
stand much  Spanish.  He  said,  "I  will  read  it, 
then  bring  someone  to  interpret  for  me,  for  I 
want  to  know  more  about  this."  He  went  aweiy, 
and  in  a  few  minutes  came  back  with  a  young 
man  who  could  speak  English,  for  his  interpreter. 

He  asked  me  where  I  heard  the  Lord  was 
soon  coming  back  again.  I  said  I  had  read  it 
in  the  Bible,  and  that  God  was  ])ouring  out  the 
Holy  Spirit  upon  the  earth  in  these  last  days; 


74  On  Mule  Back 

that  thousands  were  receiving  the  Spirit,  and  that 
the  Holy  Spirit  is  reveahng  to  the  people  that 
Jesus  is  coming  soon. 

He  then  told  us  he  had  been  going  all  over 
Mexico,  Central  and  South  America,  visiting 
idols  and  saints,  walking  several  thousands  of 
miles,  carrying  heavy  loads  of  gifts  to  these 
idols  in  the  attempt  to  get  peace  of  soul, 
but  had  not  found  it.  At  last,  sick  and  weary, 
and  in  despair,  he  gave  up. 

He  was  wondering  if  there  were  a  God  and  had 
asked  that  if  there  were  He  should  make  Himself 
known  to  him  in  some  way.  Then  he  said  he  saw 
a  great,  strong  man  coming  up  out  of  the  sea,  so 
powerful  that  he  could  make  every  nation  of  the 
world  bow  to  him.  This  man  destroyed  the 
Pope  of  Rome  and  the  Catholic  Church,  built  a 
great  church  for  himself,  and  sought  to  compel 
all  the  world  to  worship  him,  but  there  were 
many  who  would  not  do  this,  so  he  made  war 
against  them,  killing  them  all,  and  the  earth  was 
covered  with  blood.  The  people  called  on  God  to 
stop  the  terrible  w^ar  and  take  away  this  man 
from  the  earth.  Then  Jesus  came  on  a  great 
white  horse  with  many  angels  following  him, 
destroyed  the  wicked  man,  and  set  up  a  beauti- 
ful kingdom  of  peace,  in  which  everyone  was  so 
happy,  and  the  whole  earth  became  a  great 
beautiful  garden. 

Then  this  Mexican  said,  "I  felt  very  happy  in 
my  heart,  and  had  such  great  peace  of  mind." 


Tlint  Central  .Imcrica 


75 


Thru  Cciiira!  America  77 

He  had  pra^Tcl  God  to  send  someone  to  tell 
him  more  of  this  way.  He  said  he  was  very 
astonished  to  find  someone  giving  out  tracts  on 
the  ship.  Alwa>s  before  when  he  made  his 
trips  he  saw  only  gambling  and  dancing,  but 
this  time  he  found  people  preaching  the  Gospel. 

He  went  away  happy,  to  tell  his  people  he  had 
found  the  Bible  and  the  Way  of  Life.  He  talk- 
ed to  all  the  Mexicans  on  board,  telling  them 
how  God  had  answered  his  prayer. 

One  man,  who  owned  a  gold  mine  in  Mexico, 
and  had  been  in  the  United  States  and  was  re- 
turning, told  us,  as  we  were  giving  out  litera- 
ture to  the  people,  that  we  were  the  first  mission- 
aries he  ever  met  coming  that  way.  He  said  he 
had  been  in  IMexico  forty  years,  had  made  many 
trips  back  and  forth,  but  had  met  no  Christians 
in  those  parts  before.  He  himself  knew  some- 
thing of  the  Gospel,  and  was  glad  to  have  the 
papers,  and  told  us  of  the  great  need  among 
the  people  there. 

Oh!  shall  not  we  who  have  received  this  great 
outpouring  of  the  Spirit,  cry,  as  did  the  holy  ones 
in  Isaiah,  ''  Holy,  holy,  holy,  is  Jehovah  of  hosts!'' 
till  the  whole  earth  be  filled  with  Hisglor}'?  As 
I  write  in  the  hot  state-room  of  the  ship,  my 
soul  is  full  of  glory,  and  my  hands  are 
being  moved  over  the  typewriter  by  the  power 
of  the  Spirit,  while  He  tells  me  that  Jesus  is 
coming  soon,  that  we  must  work  fast,  and  open 
our  souls  to  Himself  until  we  are  filled  with  His 
power  and  glory,  so  that  the  people  with  whom 


78  On  Mule  Back 

we   come   in    contact  will  know  we   have  been 
with  Him,  and  learned  of  Him. 

A  young  man  came  to  me  and  said,  "I  heard 
you  praying  in  your  state-room  this  morning. 
May  I  come  in  next  time  when  you  have  prayer? 
I  want  to  know  about  the  Gospel."  We  had  given 
him  a  Testament.  The  next  morning  he  came 
and  knelt  with  us  and  prayed  to  the  Lord  to  save 
him.  He  arose,  with  his  face  shining  with  the 
glory  of  God,  saying,  "Won't  you  come  to  my 
country  and  tell  my  people  about  Jesus?  My 
mother  has  been  making  long  trips  to  worship 
'The  Black  Christ'  in  the  great  temple  on  the 
Honduras  border,  but  she  hasn't  found  peace. 
Won't  you  come  and  tell  her  of  this  wonderful 
salvation?"  We  corresponded  w^ith  him  later, 
sending  him  tracts  and  papers,  and  he  is  going 
on  with  the  Lord.  Won't  you  pray  that  God 
will  raise  up  someone  who  will  go  to  them  with 
the  Gospel  before  it  is  too  late? 

As  I  have  already  said,  Central  and  South 
America  are  opening  their  eyes,  and  fast  turning 
from  Romanism.  They  are  accepting  Spirit- 
ualism, New  Thought,  Christian  Science,  and 
all  kinds  of  false  religions,  because  the  true  Gos- 
pel is  not  being  preached  to  them.  Shall  we 
not  awake,  rise  up,  go  forth  with  the  message  of 
the  cross,  and  reach  these  people  before  they  are 
destroyed  with  these  awful  things? 

A  man  from  Honduras,  who  had  been  in  the 
States  studying  New  Thought,  was  returning 
with  several  boxes  of  books  to  sell  to  the  people. 


TJini  Central  America  >  79 

This  dear  young  man  had  ne\'er  heard  the  Gospel. 
He  said  he  found  that  Rome  was  keeping 
the  people  in  ignorance.  Having  met  some  New 
Thought  teachers  in  his  country,  he  had  been  to 
the  States  and  studied  New  Thought  for  a  year, 
and  was  now  returning  to  teach  it  to  his  people, 
who,  he  said,  were  anxious  to  have  him  do  so. 

We  gave  him  a  Bible,  the  first  he  had  ever 
seen,  and  he  read  it  every  day.  We  talked  and 
prayed  with  him  until  he  was  saved,  for  the  dear 
old  Word  of  God  always  wins  its  way  into  the 
hearts  of  men.  He  threw  the  New  Thought 
books  overboard  and  went  on  his  way  with 
tracts,  Testaments  and  Bibles  for  his  people, 
rejoicing  that  he  had  found  the  true  God.  Let 
us  pray  for  this  precious  soul,  that  God  will 
greatly  use  him.  He  is  a  finely  educated  young 
man,  whose  influence  will  tell  on  his  country- 
men. 

Oh!  how^  glad  we  were  we  had  been  led  to  take 
that  boat,  and  had  heid  the  opportunity  to  give 
the  Bread  of  Life  to  that  hungry  man!  God  had 
led  us  on  that  very  ship,  and  certainly  we  were 
blessed  as  we  cast  the  Word  of  God  forth  and 
saw  many  people  running  after  it.  There  is  a 
great  ministry  on  the  ships,  not  only  to  passen- 
gers, but  also  to  the  officers  and  crews.  They 
spend  all  their  time  on  the  water,  and  do  not 
have  any  opportunity  to  hear  the  Gospel,  only 
as  it  is  taken  to  them. 

Another  man,  a  Jew,  was  very  sick,  had  been 
for  a  long  time.  He  was  traveling  for  his 
health.     As  my   husband   spoke   to   him   about 


80  On  Mule  Back 

the  Lord  and  told  him  God  could  heal  him,  he 
said,  "Well,  I  will  come  right  into  your  room  now 
and  have  you  pray  for  me.  I  am  suffering  so, 
I  can't  live  until  I  reach  my  destination  if  I  do 
not  get  relief."  He  came  in  and  we  prayed  for 
him,  and  anointed  him  with  oil  in  the  name  of 
the  Lord,  asking  God  to  touch  his  body.  In- 
stantly he  threw  up  his  hands  and  began  to  say, 
"Glory!  Glory!  Glory!"  The  power  fell  on  him, 
and  he  was  saved  and  healed.  As  he  left  the 
boat  he  took  with  him  some  tracts  and  a  Testa- 
ment, and,  best  of  all,  the  glory  of  God  in  his 
soul. 

He  declared  he  was  going  to  preach  the  Gospel, 
and  he  began  right  on  the  ship.  He  was  so  filled 
with  the  power  and  glory  of  God  he  could  not 
keep  from  telling  it.  Here  was  one  more  poor 
suffering  soul  who  received  the  Bread  of  Life  that 
was  cast  upon  the  waters,  and  who  went  on  his 
way  rejoicing,  to  tell  the  glad  news  to  other  suf- 
fering ones. 

Let  us  not  be  weary  in  well  doing,  but  rise 
up  in  faith  and  go  forth  in  Jesus'  Name,  casting 
our  bread  upon  the  waters,  for  we  shall  find  it 
bringing  forth  life. 

A  woman  that  I  spoke  to  became  so  interested 
that  she  came  every  day  for  tracts  and  papers  to 
read.  I  also  gave  her  some  good  books  on  the 
second  coming  of  the  Lord,  and  on  salvation. 
She,  too,  was  saved,  and  went  away  with  her 
suitcase  full  of  the  Word  of  God  to  give  to  her 
people. 


Thru  Ccnfral  .liiUTico,  81 

"With  this  blessed  hope  before  us, 

Let  no  harp  remain  unstrung. 
Let  the  mighty  hea\enly  chorus 

Onward  roll  from  tongue  to  tongue; 
Christ  is  coming; 
Come  thou  blessed  Prince  of  P^eace." 


ARRIVING  IN  OUR  PORT  AT 
NICARAGUA 

Nearing  Nicaragua,  in  the  distance  we  saw 
three  mountain  peaks,  and  were  told  that  was 
the  Port  of  Corinto,  where  we  were  to  land.  As 
the  ship  moved  on,  we  could  see  the  light-house, 
its  white  head  towering  high  in  the  air  pointing 
out  the  way  we  were  to  go. 

The  scenery  was  beautiful.  Cocoanut  and 
palm  trees  lined  the  beach.  The  sea  was  calm 
and  we  slowly  moved  into  the  harbor, 
getting  a  good  view  of  the  little  city  spread  out 
before  us.  Great  peace  settled  down  over  our 
souls,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  whispered  to  us 
that  we  were  in  His  will.  I  stepped  into  my 
stateroom  and  opened  my  Bible,  and  this  pas- 
sage came  to  my  sight: 

'*The  Lord  shall  guide  thee  continually, 
and  satisfy  thy  soul  in  drouth,  and  make 
fat  thy  bones;  and  thou  shalt  be  like  a 
watered  garden  and  like  a  spring  of  water 
whose  waters  fail  not." — Isa.  58:11. 

We  had  cabled  Brother  Schoenich  to  meet  us, 
but  our  boat  arrived  two  days  earlier  than 
scheduled,  and  on  going  ashore,  we  found  he 
was  not  there.  We  went  to  work,  speaking 
some  English  and  a  little  Spanish,  and  making 
many  signs  and  gestures.  The  next  morning 
Brother  Schoenich  arrived,  and  worked  faith- 
fully, helping  to  get  our  things  through  the  cus- 
toms house.      After  seeing  that  everything  was 


I'lini  Central  .lincrifa 


83 


Picturesque  Street  Scene  of  the  Port  of  Corinto, 
where   we  landed 


Thru  Central  .hiicrlca 


85 


c 
•c 


« 


Tliru  Centra!  .hncrica  S7 

ready  for  the   coretta    (oxcart)    ride   to    Alata- 
galpa,  we  took  train  for  Leon. 

Arriving  at  Leon  we  went  to  the  home  of  one 
of  the  native  Christians.  The  food  was  strange  and 
new  to  us,  but  it  came  from  a  heart  of  love.  The 
next  day  was  Sunda},  and  a  company  of  dear 
ones,  who  had  been  baptized  in  the  Holy  Spirit, 
met  for  worship.  Brother  Schocnich  preached 
to  them,  admonishing  them  to  stand  true.  They 
had  no  pastor,  but  were  going  on  with  the  Lord. 

Next  morning  we  went  to  the  market  to  buy 
food  for  our  three  days'  trip  on  mule  back.  We 
found  some  of  the  saints  there.  They  were 
reading  their  Bibles,  and  witnessing  for  Jesus  in 
the  midst  of  the  priests  and  thousands  of  Cath- 
olics. They  had  their  walls  covered  with  scrip- 
ture mottoes.  When  saved,  these  people  make 
good  soldiers  for  Jesus,  enduring  hardness  joy- 
fully. They  remember  the  pit  from  whence 
they  were  digged. 

Bidding  them  good-bye,  we  prepared  our 
lunch,  mounted  our  mules,  and  rode  until  about 
ten  o'clock  that  night.  Stoj^ping  at  a  camp 
ground  for  coretta  travelers,  we  lit  our  candles, 
ate  our  meal,  strung  up  our  hammocks,  and  lay 
down  to  rest  amid  the  lowing  of  the  many  oxen. 
All  coffee  and  freight  is  moved  to  and  from  the 
interior  on  oxcarts  (corettas  in  Spanish). 

The  next  morning  we  made  our  toilet  in  and 
by  the  large  trough  where  the  mules  and  oxen 
were  watered.      After   eating    breakfast    under 


88  On  Mule  Back 

the  shed  of  the  native  hut,  we  were  off  for   our 
day's  travel. 

At  noon  we  stopped  again  at  ahttlehouseonthe 
hillside  for  food  and  water.  While  waiting  for 
the  meal  to  be  prepared  we  strung  up  our  ham- 
mocks for  a  rest.  Our  bodies  were  very  tired, 
as  we  had  never  ridden  horseback  before.  By 
this  time  we  felt  better  down  than  up.  Brother 
Schoenich,  being  accustomed  to  these  trips,  did 
not  tire  so  easily,  so  he  gathered  the  family 
together  and  preached  to  them.  It  was  the 
first   time   they   had   heard  the  Gospel. 

About  five  o'clock  we  again  mounted  our  beasts, 
and  traveled  until  midnight.  We  passed  over 
some  rough  country,  the  many  wild  parrots  and 
birds  seemed  to  be  screeching  and  singing  to 
the  dusty,  wayworn  travelers.  Once  in  a  while 
we  got  a  hot  breath  from  the  great  volcano  in 
the  distance  whose  smoke  we  could  see  billowing 
up  towards  the  clouds. 

Again  we  had  supper  by  candle-light,  then 
hung  up  our  swinging  beds  in  the  corridor  of  an 
adobe  house,  and  rested  till  the  dawn,  when  we 
heard  the  now  familiar  alarm,  the  braying  of 
our  faithful  mules,  who  seemed  to  want  to  be 
traveling.     We  arose,  dressed,  and  soon  were  off. 

At  noon  we  stopped  again  for  rest  and  for  food. 
The  food  they  offered  was  so  seasoned  with  flies 
and  worms  that  we  decided  to  buy  a  chicken  and 
cook  it  ourselves.  We  bought  a  "fryer"  but  it 
proved  to  be  an  old  hen  of  many  years'  We 
were  invited  by  our  hostess  to  come  into  her 


Tlini  Central  .hiirrica 


80 


o 
O 


Thru  Central  .hiicrica  91 

kitchen  to  fry  our  fowl.  As  we  were  trying  to 
get  the  earthen  pot  fixed  on  the  fire,  which  was 
made  in  a  sort  of  furnace  in  the  corner,  the 
smoke  poured  out  into  the  room. 

We  noticed  some  strange  sights  in  that  kitchen. 
In  one  corner  a  nice  fat  pig  was  ha\ing  his  no(jn- 
day  swim  in  a  trough  of  slop  that  had  been  ar- 
ranged for  his  benefit.  Meanwhile  a  large  red 
rooster  lifted  up  his  merry  "cock-a-doodle-doo" 
above  the  noise  of  all  the  rest  of  the  fowls  and 
animals  that  filled  the  place. 

We  managed  to  get  the  old  hen  smoked  as  well 
as  fried,  and  as  w^e  went  out  to  place  it  on  the 
small  table  which  had  been  fixed  for  us,  W'e  dis- 
covered Brother  Schoenich  had  gathered  a  com- 
pany together  and  in  his  enthusiastic  way  was 
preaching  to  them,  showing  them  that  worshij)- 
ing  the  Virgin  Mary  and  the  santos,  (saints), 
and  learning  catechisms,  etc.,  was  not  the  true 
religion  of  the  Bible.  They  listened  with  great 
interest,  asking  many  questions  about  the  Bible. 

After  our  meal  we  lay  down  on  some  boards 
to  rest,  and  fell  asleep,  only  to  be  awakened  by 
the  chattering  of  many  little  voices.  On  investi- 
gating we  found  the  children  were  having  school 
in  one  room,  all  reading  at  the  same  time,  taking 
turns  at  the  door  with  a  stick  to  keep  the  pigs 
and  chickens  out.  We  left  there  and  traveled  un- 
til dark,  then  stopped  for  the  night.  Rising  early 
the  next  morning  we  traveled  several  leagues, 
and  then  came  in  sight  of  the  lovely  little  city  of 
Matagalpa.  nestling  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains, 


92  On  Mule  Back 

The  only  evil  and  unlovely  thing,  there,  was  man, 
who  has  sinned  and  gone  far  away  from  God. 

Dear  Sister  Schoenich  and  some  of  the  native 
Christians  came  out  to  meet  us,  as  Isaac  came  out 
to  meet  Rebekah.  We  alighted,  had  a  drink  of 
water,  and  rested  a  little  before  going  into  town. 
We  certainly  were  glad  to  see  the  entrance-gate 
to  our  new  home,  which  was,  I  think,  the  largest 
gate  I  had  ever  seen.  We  thought  of  our  en- 
trance through  the  gate  of  Heaven,  after  our 
long,  weary  journey  through  this  world  of  sin 
and  sorrow. 

On  dismounting,  we  were  met  by  some  more 
of  our  dear  brown-faced  friends  who  had  gathered 
to  greet  the  new  missionaries.  When  we  saw 
their  faces  shining  with  the  glory  of  God,  and 
heard  them  sing  the  praises  of  Jesus  we  were 
refreshed  in  soul  and  body.  After  a  few  hours 
of  rest  we  were  able  to  go  into  the  meeting  and 
help  push  the  battle  for  our  King, 

We  will  work  here  with  Brother  and  Sister 
Schoenich  for  a  while,  for  they  have  a  large 
work,  and  need  help.  They  are  much  worn  in 
body  after  almost  eight  years  on  the  field,  and 
need  a  furlough.  Pray  for  us.  The  fields  are 
white  unto  harvest,  and  the  laborers  are  few.  We 
want  to  bring  some  glad  trophies  home  to  God. 


Thru  Central  America 


93 


a, 


Thru  Central  America 


95 


OUR  STAY  IN  MATAGALPA 

Our  stay  in  Matagalpa  was  a  very  pleasant 
and  profitable  one  in  many  ways.  It  was  a  great 
pleasure  to  see  the  way  God  worked  among  the 
dear  natives.  They  were  delighted  to  come  and 
worship  the  Lord,  and  anxious  to  see  others  of 
their  people  brought  into  the  fold.  The  awful 
sins  and  idolatry  of  these  people  are  beyond  our 
power  to  describe. 

We  had  been  there  about  four  days  when 
Brother  and  Sister  Schoenich  were  called  to  one 
of  their  other  stations  over  in  the  mountains. 
Perhaps  you  can  imagine  us  poor  little  folks 
there  without  the  language,  taking  care  of  the 
station  and  carrying  on  the  meetings  while  they 
were  away.  Rising  very  early  to  help  them  off 
before  the  sun  was  hot,  we  bade  them  good-bye, 
then  turned  our  faces  toward  Heaven  and  asked 
God  to  help  us,  for  we  were  there,  and  must  be 
brave  soldiers,  not  get  frightened  and  run  away 
from  the  battle.  The  Holy  Spirit  fell  upon  us, 
and  the  Lord  spoke  to  us  saying  He  would  be 
mouth  and  wisdom  unto  us. 

As  we  stepped  into  the  corridor  leading  from 
the  yard,  we  met  our  first  problem,  which  was 
to  speak  to  one  who  knew  only  the  Spanish 
language,  with  no  one  to  interpret  for  us.  The 
man  from  the  finca  (little  farm)  had  come  in  to 
ask  for  the  hammer.     He  talked  and  laughed, 


98  On  Mule  Back 

and  we  all  talked  and  laughed,  and  tried  to  see 
whether  we  could  get  what  he  wanted.  We 
brought  him  the  horses,  the  harness,  and  almost 
everything  in  the  kitchen.  At  last  we  took  him 
into  the  tool  room  to  let  him  see  if  what  he 
wanted  was  there,  and  he  picked  up  the  hammer. 
Ever  after  that  we  remembered  the  Spanish 
word  for  hammer.  But,  oh  my!  there  was  a 
pile  of  things  lying  all  over  the  corridor  to  be 
picked  up  and  put  in  their  places.  However, 
it  was  a  very  effectual  way  to  get  the  language. 

Next  the  girl  in  the  kitchen  must  be  told  what 
to  cook  for  dinner.  Into  the  kitchen  I  went, 
knowing  the  mountain  was  before  me,  and  must 
be  surmounted,  and  I  meant,  by  the  help  of  the 
Lord,  to  go  over  the  top.  Putting  out  the 
things  for  her  to  cook,  I  showed  her  by  signs, 
as  much  as  possible,  how  they  were  to  be  fixed. 
She  did  pretty  well  and  the  meals  were  good. 

But  the  worst  was  to  come.  The  next  morn- 
ing was  Sunday,  and  there  were  the  dear  na- 
tives gathering  into  the  chapel.  What  were  we 
to  do?  Oh,  we  felt  so  helpless!  Down  on  our 
faces  we  went  to  ask  God  to  come  upon  us  that 
day,  and  fill  us  with  his  power  and  pour  out  the 
Spirit  on  all  the  dear  people.  We  took  our 
Spanish  song  books,  and  went  in,  and  played  and 
sang  the  hymns  the  best  we  could.  We  had 
learned  to  say,  "Let  us  pray,"  so  we  knelt  down 
and,  we  in  English,  and  they  in  Spanish,  poured 
out  our  supplications  before  the  Lord,  and  the 
power  fell.     We  were  there  over  two  hours,  just 


Thru  Cciiti'dl  ■  liiicrica 


0<) 


Alma  and  her  music  class  in  Matagalpa 


Thru  Central  .lincrica 


lUl 


LIBRARY 
UNTVFT7F5TTY  OF  CALIFORNIA 


llini  Central  .■Inwrica  K)3 

worshiping  the  Lord,  and  the  la'np;iiai^e  was  well 
understood  by  all,  for  the  Holy  Si)irit  did  the 
speaking  and  worshiping,  and  we  did  not  make 
an  effort  to  do  anything.  Oh,  how  we  did  fei-l 
the  mighty  presence  of  the  Hol>-  One  that  (la>! 

The  next  day  many  new  things  came  iij). 
First  there  was  the  laundry  to  send  out,  then 
the  marketing  to  be  done.  We  all  rose  early, 
got  our  Spanish  grammars,  and,  by  the  time  the 
woman  came  for  the  washing,  we  were  ready  to 
speak  a  few  words  to  her  about  it.  Then  we 
studied  what  to  say  at  the  market,  and  my  hus- 
band came  home  with  some  of  the  things  we 
wanted,  and  some  things  we  didn't  want,  but  we 
were  learning  the  language  right  along. 

I  wanted  to  season  something  with  butter,  so 
called  to  the  cook  to  hurry  and  bring  it  to  me. 
I  thought  she  was  awfully  slow.  Hearing  a 
great  noise  behind  me,  I  turned  and  saw  her 
leading  the  horse  into  the  kitchen.  I  had 
asked  for  the  horse,  instead  of  the  butter,  to  put 
into  the  cooking.  After  a  hearty  laugh  from  all 
of  us,  I  went  into  my  room  for  my  Spanish 
grammar  and  looked  up  the  word  for  butter,  to 
be  sure  I  should  not  make  that  mistake  again. 

Things  were  going  i)retty  well  by  this  time, 
except  for  the  few  mistakes  we  made  occasionall>-. 

The  next  thing  I  called  for  was  a  si)oon, 
with  which  to  eat  my  souj).  Thc\-  brought  the 
broom  in,  and  laid  it  on  the  table.  I  couldn't 
very  well  eat  souj)  with  the  broom,  so  sent  it 
back  and  kept  asking  for  a  spoon,  until  either  1 


104  On  Mule  Back 

had   the  word    right,   or   they   guessed   what    I 
wanted,  I  don't  know  which. 

We  employed  a  teacher  and  every  morning 
for  a  couple  of  hours  we  studied  the  language. 
This  was  a  great  help.  We  soon  were  able  to 
ask  for  butter  or  spoons  with  no  such  mistakes, 
and  before  long  we  could  sing  and  read  our 
Bibles  quite  well,  also  give  our  testimonies  in 
Spanish.  From  day  to  day  we  could  note  the 
progress  we  made  in  learning  the  language. 

Then  came  the  day  when  Brother  and  Sister 
Schoenich  returned  home.  They  were  tired  and 
worn,  for  they  had  been  working  very  hard  in 
the  meetings  while  away,  and  we  wished  we 
could  take  all  the  burdens  from  them,  and  let 
them  rest.  But  there  were  many  things  to  at- 
tend to.  They  went  right  to  printing  the  paper, 
toiling  almost  day  and  night,  not  sparing  them- 
selves one  moment.  These  dear  souls  have 
come  into  this  dark  land  of  sin  and  idolatry  and 
laid  down  their  lives  for  the  Gospel.  Let  us 
hold  them  up  in  prayer  and  by  our  means.  Let 
every  reader  of  this  book  breathe  a  prayer  to 
God  for  these  dear  workers.  Their  bodies  are 
tired  and  worn  and  they  need  a  rest  very  badly. 
May  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  send  forth  laborers 
to  this  dark  land  to  take  their  place  long  enough 
for  them  to  have  a  furlough.  Many  were  the 
precious  lessons  of  faith  and  love  we  learned 
from  them  for  which  we  praise  God. 

The  days  went  b}'.  Three  months  passed. 
We  had  no  thought  of  leaving,  until  one  day 


Thru  Central  Auicrica 


105 


Where  we  stopped  for  the  night 
Note  the  glare  of  the  sun  on  the  white  sand 


TJint  Central  .Inicrica 


107 


Alma  and  Carl  among  the  banana  trees 


Thru  Centra!  .liiicrica  10*^^ 

while  we  were  out  giving  tracts  to  I  lie  Indians 
as  they  passed  by,  God  spoke  to  nie  and  said, 
"Go  to  Leon."  W'e  didn't  see  how  we  could 
possibly  do  that,  for  we  had  so  little  of  the  lan- 
guage, and  no  money  to  go  with,  and  it  would 
take  at  least  sevent>-five  dollars.  But  as  we 
waited  before  the  Lord,  we  were  sure  it  was  His 
dear  will.  Then  we  asked  for  the  means  to  be 
sent  for  the  oxcart  to  carry  our  baggage  o\er 
the  mountains.  The  next  mail  brought  a  draft 
for  just  the  amount  needed.  Brother  and  Sis- 
ter Schoenich  told  us  that  before  Sister  Veagges' 
death  she  had  said  the  Lord  showed  her  we  were 
the  missionaries  for  Leon.  At  that  time  we 
had  never  met  any  of  the  workers,  but  had  been 
merely  corresponding  with   them. 

Then  there  was  the  packing  of  our  things  in 
preparation  for  the  trip,  which  was  a  long  tire- 
some one  over  the  mountains  and  plains  under 
the  tropical  sun.  We  worked  hard,  and  in  one 
week  were  off.  Brother  Schoenich  took  us  down 
on  his  mules,  which  was  very  kind  of  him.  His 
heart  is  in  the  work  in  this  country,  and  he  has 
been  willing  to  make  every  sacrifice  to  get  the 
Gospel  to  these  people. 


LEAVING  MATAGALPA  FOR  LEON 

After  seeing  our  trunks  and  baggage  loaded 
on  the  oxcart,  and  started  on  the  way,  we  set 
about  to  prepare  a  lunch  for  the  trip,  as  the  only 
food  available  while  traveling  through  the  coun- 
try is  tortillas,  (corn  cakes),  and  frijoles,  (beans), 
and  many  times  one  cannot  even  get  these,  for 
the  people  are  very  poor,  many  of  them  living 
on  roots  and  leaves  from  certain  trees. 

After  saying  good-bye  to  Sister  Schoenich, 
and  to  the  native  Christians  who  had  gathered 
to  see  us  off,  we  mounted  our  beasts  and  were 
soon  on  our  way  through  the  little  village,  wav- 
ing good-bye  to  the  many  friends  we  had  met 
while  there.  The  road  being  very  good  for 
some  distance  we  had  several  races,  and  we  re- 
marked how  clean  we  then  were,  but  how  dif- 
ferent we  would  look  on  reaching  our  destina- 
tion. The  sun  was  just  sinking  behind  the 
western  hills  and  we  could  see  the  natives  driving 
in  the  animals  for  the  night.  As  we  rode  on 
we  saw  the  hills  were  all  on  fire,  for  the  custom 
there  is  to  burn  all  the  shrubbery  before 
planting  crops.  As  we  saw  the  great  flames 
winding  their  way  up  the  tall  trees,  and  flashing 
into  the  air,  burning  up  the  thorns  and  briers, 
and  leaving  the  ground  clean  so  the  seed  which 
was  to  be  planted  might  grow,  there  came  to 
my  mind  the  thought  that  even  so,  the  power 
and  fire  of  God  could  fall  on  that  country  and 


Thru  Coitral  .  lincrica 


111 


Tlini  Cent  nil  .Inwrica 


113 


Thru  Central  .Imcrica  113 

burn  up  all  the  awful  sin  and  idolatry  which 
was  binding  those  people,  so  that  the  Word  of 
God  could  be  sowed  and  bring  forth  fruit  in 
their  lives.  And  there  arose  from  our  hearts,  a 
cry  to  our  Heavenly  Father  to  send  out  His 
messengers  into  that  needy  land  to  light  the 
fires  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  till  sin  should  be  burned, 
and  the  people  be  freed. 

"Send  down  Thy  power,  O  Lord! 

And  let  Thy  mercy  flow, 
Till  all  the  people  of  this  land 

Shall  Thy  salvation  know." 

Riding  until  about  10  o'clock,  passing  over  some 
very  rough  road,  we  reached  a  little  village. 
Being  very  tired  and  hungry,  we  decided  to 
stop  here  for  the  night.  We  hung  our  swinging 
beds  up  in  the  shed  of  the  nati\  e  hut,  which  was 
used  for  a  saloon,  and  after  eating  our  scanty 
meal  by  candle-light,  we  committed  ourselves 
to  the  keeping  of  the  One  who  never  slumljers 
nor  sleeps,  then  lay  down  to  rest  amid  the  talk- 
ing of  many  other  travelers,  who  were  stopping 
there  for  the  night.  Each  one  carried  in  his 
belt  a  big  revolver,  and  a  machette  (a  large 
knife),  which  all  the  people,  even  the  children, 
carry,  and  with  which  they  kill  one  another, 
when  they  become  angry.  Nevertheless  we  were 
conscious  of  the  angels  camping  around  us,  and 
there  was  no  fear  in  our  hearts. 

Awakening  next  morning  very  early,  we 
arose  and  brushed  off  the  dust  which  covered 
us  from  the  constant  traveling  on  the  road,  near 


116  On  Mule  Back 

which  wc  had  been  sleeping,  for  the  people 
travel  all  through  the  night,  as  in  the  day  the 
sun  is  very  hot.  We  ate  our  breakfast  again 
by  candle-light,  and  after  our  morning  prayer,  we 
mounted  and  were  off  for  a  day's  trip.  Though 
our  bodies  were  very  tired  we  went  on  singing 
and  praising  God  for  the  glorious  privilege  of 
carrying  the  Gospel  message  to  that  dark  land. 

We  rode  until  about  noon,  when  we  came  to  a 
stream  of  water  which  looked  very  refreshing  to 
us.  The  poor  animals  were  so  glad  to  see  that 
water  that  when  they  got  in  it  they  drank,  and 
drank,  and  drank.  W'e  spread  our  lunch  on  the 
sand,  and  washed  ourselves  and  drank  heartily, 
for  that  was  the  first  water  we  had  seen  for  two 
days  except  the  little  the  natives  had  given  us 
to  drink.  Then  came  one  who  told  us  that  just 
upstream  all  the  dead  animals  of  the  neighbor- 
hood were  thrown  in.  But  we  claimed  the 
promise,  that  "If  ye  drink  any  deadly  thing 
it  shall  not  hurt  you."^Mark  16:  18. 

After  a  rest  for  ourselves  and  beasts,  we  were 
again  on  our  way.  The  sun  being  very  hot  by 
this  time  we  prayed  that  the  Lord  would  send 
a  cloud  over  it,  which  He  did.  Praise  His  Holy 
Name!  "The  sun  shall  not  smite  you  by  day." 
We  went  on,  passing  over  great  rocks  and 
boulders.  The  mules  had  to  climb  up  and  over 
them  until  at  times  it  was  impossible  for 
new  and  inexperienced  riders  as  we  were,  to 
stay  in  the  saddles.  However,  some  of  us  missed 
our  saddles  only  a  few  times  and  took  a  tumble. 


Thru  Central  America 


117 


Alma    and    Carl    feeding   the  pet    deer 


Tlint  Central  .Inicrica 


]V) 


3 


TliiK  Central  .liiirrica  \2\ 

Sister  riiinc)-.  putliiii;  hvv  conliclciui-  in  a 
broken  j)art  on  llu-  back  of  her  sackUe,  fell  off 
as  she  was  .uoiiij^  iij)  a  steep  place,  and  after 
standing  on  her  head  for  an  instant,  rolled 
down  the  bank,  the  mule  stei)ping  on  her  chest. 
Rising,  she  praised  the  Lord  that  He  had  sent 
His  angel  and  delivered  her.  She  mounted, 
and  we  were  oft"  again,  after  finding  she  was  not 
hurt.  E\identh-  I  did  not  ha\e  so  much  faith 
in  the  matter  of  falling  oft*  mules,  and  rolling 
round  amid  the  rocks,  for  while  passing  through 
a  very  deep  cut,  with  high  banks  on  either 
side,  the  mule  whic^h  I  was  riding  pushed 
against  the  bank,  and  having  a  bad  saddle,  I 
lost  my  hold  and  fell  under  the  animal's  feet. 
She  was  kind  enough  not  to  step  on  the  i)o(^r 
missionary- who  was  such  an  inexperienced  rider, 
but  who  had  been  called  to  learn,  and  she  \ery 
carefully  stepped  over  me.  1  was  picked  uj), 
and,  after  a  little  prayer-meeting  there  in  the 
dust,  I  was  able  to  remount  and  ride  on  to  our 
destination,  thirty-fi\e  miles  away.  Ciod  won- 
derfully blessed  me  and  the  Holy  Spirit  came 
upon  me,  and  I  sang  and  praised  the  Lord  in 
tongues  —  with  interpretation.  All  the  wa\'  1 
felt  the  strong  arm  of  Jesus  ui^holding  me.  On 
arriving  my  foot  was  found  to  be  l)a(ll\'  broken 
and  crushed,  and  so  swollen  that  I  could  hanlK- 
remove  my  shoe. 

Praise  the  Lord!  He  came  down  and  blessed 
my  soul,  and  touched  my  body!  How  His  love 
did  burn  in  my  heart!  As  the  devil  seemed 
to  be  angry   I   felt  that   I   was  surely  called   to 


122  On  Mule  Back 

preach  the  Gospel  in  that  place.  The  power  went 
through  my  poor,  crushed  and  swollen  foot  until 
it  was  entirely  straightened,  for  it  had  been  so 
twisted  that  my  toes  were  behind,  and  my  heel 
was  in  front.  I  could  feel  the  bones  set  and 
straightened  as  the  mighty  power  surged  through 
like  bolts  of  electricity.  I  did  not  stop  preaching 
although  for  a  time  I  was  unable  to  put  my  foot 
to  the  floor,  but  the  people  came  to  me,  sitting 
there  in  the  house,  to  ask  about  the  Gospel. 

One  night  I  felt  the  healing  touch  so  strong 
that  I  knew  I  could  walk,  so,  arising  next  morn- 
ing, I  attempted  to  put  on  my  shoe,  but  it 
would  not  even  go  over  my  toes.  Nevertheless, 
I  praised  God,  laced  the  shoe  on  the  other  foot, 
ready  to  walk,  and  then  kept  pulling  at  the  other 
shoe  until  it  went  on.  Soon  it  was  laced  up  and 
I  was  ready  to  walk.  I  went  into  the  meetings, 
and  have  been  going  ever  since,  and  that  foot 
is  as  good  as  it  ever  was.  How  we  do  praise 
Jesus  that  we  can  suffer  for  His  name's  sake.  No 
warrior  returns  from  battle  without  wounds,  or 
marks  of  hardships  endured,  and  one  national 
hero  declared  he  was  sorry  that  he  had  but  one 
life  to  give  for  his  country.  Much  more  should 
we  endure  and  give,  who  are  fighting  for  our 
Heavenly  country  under  the  leadership  of  our 
great  Captain,  King  Jesus, 

We  have  heard  the  Macedonian  call,  "Come 
Over  and  Help  Us,"  and  the  love  of  God  con- 
strains us,  so  "onward  we  must  go,  regardless  of 
the  foe."     Truly  these  dear  people  are  calling  for 


Thru  Cent  rill  .hiicrica 


123 


Carl  with  his  faithful  pony 


Thru  Central  .liiicrica 


123 


Bringing  coffee  down  from  the  mountain  plantations 


Thru  Central  .liiicrica  \27 

US  to  come  and  give  them  the  Gospel.  Shall  we 
fail  and  allow  them  to  perish  without  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  love  of  Him,  who  so  freely  died  to 
save  them? 

Late  one  afternoon  we  arrived  at  a  small  vil- 
lage, and  being  tired  from  the  hard  da\'s  travel 
we  decided  to  stay  for  the  night,  hut  when  we 
stopped,  ready  to  dismount,  we  were  told  that 

Robbers 

had  swept  down  from  the  mountains  on  the 
towns  and  villages  of  that  district,  had  rob- 
bed the  people,  and  driven  off  their  stock.  The 
soldiers  had  been  sent  out,  and  already  one 
battle  had  been  fought,  and  more  trouljle  was 
brewing,  so  it  was  very  dangerous  for  us  to  be 
traveling.  We  looked  to  the  Lord  for  guidance, 
and  felt  that  we  must  lose  no  time,  l)ut  taking 
the  Blood  for  our  protection,  should  move  on. 
Arising  at  two  o'clock  the  next  morning  we  went 
over  the  road  on  which  the  robbers  were  sup- 
posed to  be,  through  a  dense  forest,  but  saw 
nor  heard  nothing  except  the  many  parrots  and 
birds,  screeching  and  singing. 

We  made  seventeen  leagues  that  day,  crossing 
mountains  and  plains,  st(jpj)ing  at  noon  at  a 
little  hut  by  the  roadside  for  food  for  the  beasts 
and  rest  for  ourselves.  We  were  received  with 
much  hospitality  by  these  people,  with  their 
bamboo  covered  house,  its  walls  comj^osed  of  a 
few  sticks  stuck  up  at  intervals.  The  entire 
inside  had  on  its  dress  of  mourning  from  the 
smoke  from   the  tamily  cook-stove,   which  was 


128  On  Mule  Back 

a  pile  of  rocks  in  one  corner.  While  the 
woman  was  making  us  a  fresco  of  gourd  seed, 
(a  favorite  drink  they  make  there),  grinding  the 
seeds  on  the  tortilla  stone,  the  old  mother  pig 
and  her  babies  were  having  a  real  jubilee  under 
the  rickety  table.  In  that  country  hogs  seem 
to  be  the  family  pets,  for  in  every  house  there 
are  many  of  them.  The  beds  were  merely  a  few 
sticks  covered  with  a  rawhide.  Other  sticks 
surmounted  by  a  rough  board  served  for  a  table, 
and  a  black  smutty  pile  of  rocks  was  the  stove. 
These  articles  completed  the  home  furnishings. 
The  host  was  poor,  but  oh,  how  he  and  his  family 
listened  to  the  Gospel  story!  This  is  the  picture 
of  thousands  of  homes  in  that  country.  The 
people  are  exceedingly  poor,  but  hungry  for  the 
Bread  of  Life.  How  we  enjoyed  preaching  the 
Gospel  to  them!  Although  there  were  numerous 
hardships  to  endure,  it  was  sweet  to  be  in  God's 
will,  and  to  tell  these  dear  ones  of  His  great  love 
for,  and  His  desire  to  save  them. 

Reaching  our  next  stopping  place  late  in  the 
evening  we  camped  for  the  night.  After  we 
women  were  in  our  hammocks,  and  the  men 
had  seen  the  animals  put  away  for  the  night,  they 
went  for  a  swim  in  a  nearby  stream.  When 
their  swim  was  finished,  they  found  the  stream 
was  the  home    of    some    large 

Alligators 

but,  praise  God!  He  is  the  same  as  when  He 
stopped  the  lions'  mouths  for  Daniel.  Certainly 
He  does  care  for  His  little  children. 


I'hru  Central  .  liitcric).! 


129 


The  only  Jesus  they  know 


Tlint  Central  .lincrka 


131 


One  of  the  first  to  accept  the  Gospel 


Thru  Central  .lincrica  133 

The  God  of  Daniel  was  great  ami  strong 

Stopping  the  lions'  mouths,  and  filling  his  hrarl  with 
song. 

Rising  before  tla\i)R'ak  \vc  sent  up  a  thcinks- 
giving  to  our  Heavenly  Father  for  His  safe- 
keeping through  the  night,  and  asked  Hint  to 
protect  us  that  day.  I  hen  we  loaded  our  beds 
and  other  belongings  upon  the  nitdes  and  went 
on  our  wa>'. 

That  day's  journey  brought  us  over  a  part 
of  the  country  which  was  covered  with  great 
rocks  and  boulders  thrown  from  Nicaragua's 
largest  volcano,  El  Momotonibo.  In  the  dis- 
tance we  could  see  the  volcano  belching  forth 
smoke,  and  the  heat  was  intense.  About  one 
hundred  years  ago  this  volcano  completely  de- 
stroyed the  city  of  Leon,  leaving  a  great  lake 
filled  with  water,  which  is  there  today. 

The  dust  was  ver\'  deep  in  the  roads,  because 
of  the  extensi\e  tra\eling.  It  rolled  tip  al)otit 
us  in  a  great  cloud.  Many  times  we  could  not 
see  each  other  a  few  feet  awa}'.  We  resembled 
a  miniature  whirlwind  coming  down  the  road, 
and  surely  we  were  a  whirlwind  coming  against 
the  devil.  The  enemy  would  fain  stir  uy>  a 
storm  to  strangle  (lod's  people  and  })re\ent 
them  from  invading  the  tirritory  he  has  so  long 
held,  but  we  wotild  not  be  intimidated.  Sotils 
were  at  stake.  The\-  were  being  held  in  i)rison. 
behind  bars  of  iron,  i)ut  their  cries  had  reached 
Heaven  and  God  had  sent  some  of  His  messen- 
gers with  the  glad  news  of  freedom.      The  mes- 


134  On  Mule  Back 

sage  must  be  delivered,  regardless  of  the  cost, 
so  over  mountain  and  plain  we  went,  covered 
with  dust,  faint  from  much  traveling  through 
long,  hot  days,  but  on  to  the  people  with  the 
message  that  Jesus  died  to  set  them  free. 

"Will  we  ever  think  of  trials,  will  we  ever  think  of  pain, 
Or  the  crosses  we've  endured  for  Jesus'  sake, 

On  that  Hallelujah  morning  as  we  gather  round  the 
throne, 
And  with  Jesus  of  the  marriage  feast  partake? 

Let  us  hasten  with  the  message  which  He  said  was 
meant  for  all. 
To  the  black,  the  white,  the  yellow,  and  the  brown; 
Of  one  blood  He  made  all  nations,  we  must  win  them 
all  for  Him. 
Precious  jewels  to  adorn  the  Savior's  crown." 

Toward  dtisk  we  came  in  sight  of  a  little 
adobe  house,  and  were  told  that  we  might  stop 
there  for  the  night.  How  nice  it  was  to  see  a 
place  where  we  could  rest  our  tired  bodies,  wash 
ourselves  and  comb  our  hair.  For  three  days 
we  had  been  unable  to  comb  our  hair  or  wash 
ourselves  for  water  was  too  scarce.  How  wonder- 
ful it  will  be  when  we  earth-travelers  pass  on 
our  way  to  that  City  which  hath  foundations, 
whose  builder  and  maker  is  God,  where  we  shall 
see  dear  Jesus  and  hear  Him  say,  "Come,  My 
children,  into  the  mansions  I  have  prepared 
for  you."  The  residents  of  that  city  "shall 
hunger  no  more,  neither  thirst  any  more,  neither 
shall  the  sun  light  on  them,  nor  any  heat.  For 
the  Lamb  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  throne  shall 
feed  them,  and  shall  lead  them  unto  living 
fountains  of  waters,  and  God  shall  wipe  away  all 


Thru  Central  .  liiii-rica 


135 


Carl  and  his  father,  as  they  distributed  tracts  to  the  Indians 
by  the  roadside. 


'rinu  Central  .liiicrica  l.v 

tears  from  their  eyes." — Rev.  '  7:10,17.  Hcnv 
blessed  to  know  Jesus  has  gone  to  prepare  a 
place  for  us!  How  the  very  thought  thrills  my 
soul,  and  causes  me  to  want  to  work  to  help 
bring  others  into  those  mansions! 

While  talking  with  the  nati\es,   they  told  us 
that 

A  Large  Tiger 
had  come  down  from  the  mountains  and,  after 
killing  two  cows  and  injuring  se\eral  more,  had 
escaped.  They  were  greatl}'  frightened,  as  the 
animal  was  still  in  the  neighborhood,  but  we  lay 
down  under  the  shed,  and  went  to  sleep,  awaken- 
ing just  when  the  sun  was  coming  up  through  the 
trees.  We  hustled  and  dressed,  and  after  or- 
dering some  hot  milk  from  the  people  there,  we 
mounted  for  another  day's  journey.  W^e  went 
down  the  road  in  the  direction  which  the  tiger 
had  taken.  The  natives  warned  us  that  we 
were  likely  to  meet  the  ferocious  animal  in  the 
forest  not  far  away,  Init  we  went  on,  singing  the 
sweet  songs  of  Zion,  and  trusting  ourselves  to 
His  keeping,  who  said,  "I  will  give  you  power 
over  all  the  power  of  the  enemy."  A  tiger  was 
a  very  small  thing  compared  to  the  awful 
monster  of  sin  which  had  ravaged  the  whok' 
country.  We  realized  that  the  King's  business 
demanded  haste,  so  we  passed  on,  ancl  rode  oxer 
the  dusty  road  unmolested.  The  blessed  Hoh- 
Spirit  filled  our  hearts  with  jox'  at  the  thought 
of  soon  reaching  the  place  where  we  should  ha\'e 
meetings  with  the  dear  faithful  little  band  of 
Christians  who  were  awaiting. 


OUR  ARRIVAL  IN  LEON 

Our  arrival  in  the  city  aroused  much  curiosity 
among  the  people.  As  we  passed  through  the 
streets  they  came  out  of  their  houses  and  fol- 
lowed us  to  see  w^here  we  were  going.  When  we 
came  in  sight  of  the  house  where  lived  a  Chris- 
tian woman,  who  had  suffered  much  at  the 
hands  of  her  people,  she  came  out  to  meet  us. 
The  power  fell  on  her,  and  she  danced  for  joy, 
and  we  wept  and  shouted.  A  crowd  soon  gath- 
ered to  see  what  had  occurred,  and  we  had  a  meet- 
ing right  there,  telling  them  of  the  Savior's  love 
and  His  willingness  to  save  them  from  all  sin,  and 
to  present  them  faultless  before  His  Father.  These 
people  had  persecuted  this  dear  sister  for  ten  years 
after  she  was  saved.  They  would  come  and  whip 
her,  throw  her  goods  into  the  street,  and  tell  her 
they  would  kill  her  if  she  did  not  turn  back  into 
the  Roman  church,  but  she  stood  true,  and  now 
had  the  Baptism  of  the  Spirit,  and  in  her  house 
wc  had  our  meetings. 

We  slept  on  cow  hides  for  beds,  with  a  straw 
mat  under  us.  We  ate  our  food  out  of  gourds  for 
two  weeks  until  our  things  came  and  we  could 
get  a  house.  It  was  sweet  to  be  in  the  Master's 
dear  service. 

The  city  of  Leon  is  anti-American  because  it 
is  the  headc^uarters  of  the  Liberal  party,  which 
is  trying  to  overthrow  the  rule  of  the  church  of 
Rome.     The   United  States  appointed   a  pres- 


Thru  Central  America 


139 


w 


TJirn  Central  .Imcri^a  141 

ident  twelve  years  ago,  thus  stopping  the  re\ oiu- 
tion  then  in  progress.  As  the  president  is  a 
church  man  the  liberal  i)arly  hasn't  much  love 
for  an  American. 

This  was  a  difficult-  which  we  had  before  us. 
Not  only  were  missionaries  hated,  but  we  were 
American  missionaries,  which  was  far  worse. 
We  looked  to  the  Father  for  a  house  in  which  we 
might  live,  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  these  dear 
people.  A  man  came  to  us  and  said  we  could 
have  a  house,  so  we  moved  in  the  following  day. 
It  was  a  poor  thing  to  call  a  house,  being  dirty, 
and  infested  with  scorpions,  lizards,  and  a 
species  of  ant  which  builds  a  big  mud  house 
and  eats  not  only  one's  clothes  but  also  the 
furniture. 

We  were  situated  between  two  saloons  and 
houses  of  ill-fame,  right  in  the  slum  district. 
People  danced,  drank  and  caroused  all  night 
in  these  places.  It  was  a  pretty  good  place  in 
which  to  open  fire  on  the  enemy,  being  right  in 
the  midst  of  his  works.  When  an  army  advances 
to  fight  the  enemy  it  goes  to  the  strongest  point. 

On  one  side  of  our  house,  which  was  built  of 
thin  lumber,  there  were  cracks  in  the  wall,  and  we 
could  look  through  the  cracks  into  the  saloon. 
We  remembered  the  scripture  which  says  we 
are  not  to  light  a  candle  and  put  it  under  a 
bushel,  but  on  a  candle  stick,  so  all  can  see; 
so  we  would  get  out  our  little  organ  and  sing 
and  play,  then  kneel  and  pray,  and  the  people 
would  peep  through  at  us.     We  were  told  they 


142  On  Mule  Back 

might  throw  rocks  at  us,  and  burn  down  the 
house,  and  might  even  kill  us,  but  we  were  not 
there  to  draw  back,  so  we  opened  fire  with  the 
heavy  artillery  of  God's  power  in  the  Holy 
Ghost. 

We  had  not  had,  as  yet,  any  public  meetings, 
but  had  been  waiting  on  the  Lord  for  guidance. 
One  morning  there  appeared  a  woman  in  our 
doorway,  crying  out 

"Will  You  Come  and  Pray  for  My 
Baby?    It  Is  Dying!" 

We  went  with  her  to  her  home,  which  was  a 
few  doors  away.  There  on  the  bed  lay  a  little 
child,  seemingly  just  passing  away.  A  crowd  had 
gathered  about  the  door.  When  I  saw  the  baby 
and  that  crowd  there  arose  a  cry  to  God  from 
the  depths  of  my  soul  to  heal  the  child,  thereby 
proving  His  power  to  the  people.  The  child 
seemed  to  pass  away,  but  we  called  on  God  to 
heal  it  for  His  glory.  The  little  thing  rose  up, 
climbed  off  the  bed,  and  began  playing  on  the 
floor. 

The  mother  shouted  and  gave  herself  to  the 
Lord  then  and  there.  The  doctors  had  given 
the  child  medicine  to  make  it  die  easy,  for  it 
had  been  sick  a  long  time.  The  mother  brought 
the  baby  to  our  house,  and  sang,  and  praised 
the  God  of  Heaven  until  the  people  from  far 
and  near  came  to  see  the  child.  She  after- 
wards took  the  child  and  went  all  over  the  city 
from  house  to  house  telling  how  God  had  healed 


lltni  Ccninil  .  liiwrica 


143 


Mother  with  child  that  was  raised  up  from  death 


Thru  Central  .liitcrica  145 

it  and  sawd  Iut.  Then  the  people  he.uan  to 
come  to  be  prated  for.  Often  the\-  would 
come  and  sta\'  far  into  the  night. 

We  were  ha\ing  such  a  blessed  time  that  we 
forgot  about  living  in  the  slums,  and  about  the 
saloons  on  either  side  of  us,  although  at  hrst 
we  could  not  sleep  for  the  noise  from  them. 
Soon  we  discovered  they  had  mo\ed  the  saloon 
which  was  so  close  to  our  bedroom.  When  I 
saw  the  proprietor  come  into  the  meetings,  with 
others  who  came  for  prayer,  I  asked  him  if  he- 
had  moved.  He  answered  he  had,  as  he  chd 
not  feel  good  to  have  a  bar  so  close  to  where 
we  prayed  so  much.  Besides,  he  said,  he  had 
no  customers  left,  as  they  all  came  to  hear  us. 
Hallelujah!  Jesus  did  move  in  a  mighty  way. 

On  the  other  side  was  the  biggest  house  of 
ill-fame  in  the  city.  Men  and  women  gathered 
there  by  dozens,  some  of  them  perfectly  nude, 
dancing  and  drinking  at  all  hours  of  the  night. 
It  was  so  awful  we  felt  that  hell  had  been  un- 
capped in  that  place.  But  here  came  the 
"madame"  to  us,  asking  for  prayer,  saying  she 
was  sick,  and  she  knew  she  was  living  a  bad  life. 
After  her  came  many  others.  We  prayed  with 
each  one  and  gave  them  each  a  Bible,  until 
there  were  some  mighty  changes  wrought  in 
that  section  of  the  city. 

One  Dark  Night 

when  the  rain  was  falling  in  torrents,  we  were 
sitting  around  our  feeble  candle-light,  reading 
our   Bibles.     We   heard   a   knock  on   the   door. 


146  On  Mule  Back 

It  was  late,  and  we  had  been  warned  by  both 
missionaries  and  the  Christian  natives,  to  be 
very  careful  to  whom  we  opened  our  doors 
after  night,  as  there  were  people  who  would  as 
soon  kill  us  as  they  would  an  animal,  so  we  did 
not  open  the  door  immediately.  The  knocking 
continued,  and  we  heard  a  man's  voice  asking 
us  in  Spanish  to  let  him  in.  My  husband  partly 
opened  the  door,  and  in  the  small  opening  we 
saw  a  tall,  dark  native.  He  pushed  into  the 
room,  looking  very  much  frightened.  When  we 
asked  what  he  wanted,  he  asked  if  we  were  the 
missionaries.  We  told  him  that  we  were,  and 
he  told  us  that  five  years  before  he  had  found  a 
Bible,  and  began  reading  it.  He  had  become 
convinced  of  the  truth  of  the  Gospel  and  wished 
to  talk  with  us.  We  talked  and  prayed  with 
him,  then  asked  him  to  come  to  the  meetings. 
He  said  his  mother  was  very  angry  because  he 
did  not  go  to  the  church  any  more,  and  he  was 
afraid  that  if  he  were  to  come  to  our  meetings 
the  people  would  kill  him.  That  was  why  he 
had  come  on  such  a  dark,  wet  night  to  have  a 
talk  with  the  missionaries.  We  were  reminded 
of  the  ruler  in  Israel  who  interviewed  Jesus  in 
the  night. 

He  came  to  the  house  every  night  for  two 
weeks.  When  we  opened  our  class  in  English  he 
attended.  We  always  had  a  lesson  from  the 
Bible,  and  the  scholars  had  to  learn  scripture 
verses.  One  day  this  man  came  out  boldly  and 
said,  "I  am  coming  to  the  meetings."  By  this 
time  we  had  several  of  the  leading  citizens  of  the 


Thru  Central  America 


147 


'3 


Thru  Cent  nil  .Imcrica  149 

city  attending  our  meetings.  This  young  man 
has  since  been  called  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  his 
people.  Pray  for  him.  The  following  is  a  copy 
of  a  note  he  wrote  us  when  we  left  Leon. 

"I  am  returning  your  book.  I  thank  you  so  much  for 
it.  It  has  been  a  great  blessing  to  me.  Please  pray  for 
me,  as  I  feel  a  call  to  preach  the  Gospel.  Send  me  Bibles 
and  tracts  from  your  land  for  my  people." 

Others  came  to  the  class,  being  anxious  to 
learn  English.  The  judge  of  the  city,  doctors, 
lawyers,  and  many  others  heard  the  Gospel 
preached.  To  one  young  man  who  came  to 
the  class  we  gave  a  Bible  in  English,  and  one 
day  he  came  to  ask  us  some  questions.  The 
priests  had  told  the  natives  w^e  were  nice  people 
but  were  teaching  error,  for  we  taught  people  to 
read  the  Bible  and  the  Bible  was  a  very  bad 
book,  and  they  must  not  read  it.  But  this 
precious  boy  was  convicted  of  sin,  and  was 
seeking  God.  We  asked  him  to  pray  the  Lord 
to  forgive  his  sins,  and  then  to  beheve  that  God 
did  it.  He  asked  for  a  prayer-book,  so  he  could 
pray.  We  told  him  we  never  used  prayer-books; 
we  simply  asked  God  to  forgive  us  and  save  us 
from  our  sins.  He  was  sweetly  saved  and  went 
away  to  bring  a  cousin  to  the  meetings.  This 
cousin  was  also  saved.  These  two  were  among 
our  brightest  pupils.  They  could  read  and 
speak  English  quite  well  in  a  few  months. 

One  morning,  very  early,  before  we  were  up, 
there  came  a  kncx'k  on  our  door  and  a  little 
brown-faced     Indian   girl   appeared.      She    was 


150  On  Mule  Back 

about  thirteen  years  old,  and  very  pretty.  She 
asked  us  to  take  her  as  a  servant.  She  had 
nowhere  to  go,  and  had  been  sleeping  in  the 
market.  As  I  looked  at  that  dear  little  brown 
face  and  heard  her  story  I  looked  up  to  my 
Heavenly  Father  and  breathed  a  prayer  that 
He  would  remember  the  thousands  who,  like  her, 
had  no  home  and  were  perishing.  We  told  her 
we  would  take  her,  and  I  wish  my  readers  might 
have  seen  that  dear  little  face  light  up  with  joy 
because  she  would  have  a  home  with  the  mis- 
sionaries. She  was  a  very  bright  girl,  and  very 
quick  to  learn.  Soon  she  could  play  the  organ 
and  sing  the  Gospel  hymns.  How  she  did  love 
to  go  to  the  meetings  and  to  read  her  Bible! 

Carl's  Ball  and  Bat 

Carl  had  a  ball  and  a  bat  which  had  been 
brought  from  the  homeland,  and  in  the  daytime 
he  would  go  out  into  the  small  park  near  the 
house,  gather  all  the  boys  from  the  streets,  and 
play  ball  with  them.  They  had  never  seen  a 
ball  or  a  bat  before,  and  it  was  all  very  wonder- 
ful to  them.  Carl's  face  would  become  very  red 
from  the  heat,  and  the  children  thought  it  queer 
to  see  a  red-faced  boy  with  such  white  hair,  and 
such  peculiar  things  as  the  ball  and  bat.  He 
would  play  with  them  until  lunch-time,  then 
they  would  come  home  with  him,  and  he  would 
get  his  Bible,  read  from  it,  and  tell  them  of 
Jesus,  and  numbers  of  them  were  brought  to 
God  in  this  way. 


Thru  Cciilral  .  liiiciica 


151 


o 
Si 


Thru  Central  .liiicrica  153 

Many  boys  and  girls  came  to  us  asking  for  a 
school  and  a  home,  but  I  am  sorry  to  say  that 
we  could  not  possibly  take  them  in,  our  house 
and  means  would  not  permit.  But  we  are  ask- 
ing God  to  stir  up  the  people  in  the  homeland  to 
give  till  there  shall  be  a  home  and  school  opened 
in  this  dark  city  of  Leon  where  these  precious 
jewels  may  be  gathered  in  and  taught  the  Bible, 
and  the  way  to  God. 

We  were  having  precious  meetings,  and  one 
da>^  a  man  came  saying  he  had  walked  a  long 
distance  to  find  the  missionaries,  to  get  them  to 
come  to  his  home  and  teach  the  Gospel.  Hus- 
band and  I  went  with  him,  going  as  far  as  pos- 
sible on  the  little  railroad,  then  walking  the  rest 
of  the  wa}'.  When  we  arrived  we  felt  as  if 
every  drop  of  our  l)lood  were  boiling,  we  were  so 
hot,  walking  so  far  under  the  tropical  sun.  We 
found  the  family  gathered  to  hear  the  Word  of 
God,  and  thought  of  Peter  going  to  the  house  of 
Cornelius. 

"Oh,  the  love  that  drew  seilvation's  jilaii! 

Oh,  the  grace  that  brought  it  down  to  man! 
Oh,  the  mighty  gulf  that  God  did  span! 
At  Calvary." 

The  Lord  touched  these  dear  hearts  with  His 
love  in  a  mighty  way.  The}'  wept,  and  cried 
to  Him  to  save  them.  Even  the  little  children 
were  hungry  to  seek  the  Lord.  Far  away  from 
all  Christians,  in  a  dark  land,  filled  with  idols, 
where  the  powers  of  darkness  fill  the  very  air, 


154  On  Mule  Back 

were  those  precious  souls,  just  waiting  for  some- 
one to  come  and  tell  them  of  a  Savior's  love. 
There  are  many  thousands  just  like  them.  Dear 
reader,  what  will  you  do  to  get  the  gospel  to 
them?  Ask  the  Lord  to  show  you  what  He 
would  have  you  do. 

I  shall  never  forget  the  scene  when  we  started 
to  leave  these  people.  They  clung  to  us,  beg- 
ging us  not  to  leave  them.  But  there  were  our 
own  dear  children  at  Leon,  in  a  foreign  land,  far 
away  from  all  loved  ones,  and  with  no  one  to 
protect  them,  and  the  shadows  of  night  were 
beginning  to  faU.  We  had  to  pull  ourselves 
away  from  those  pleading,  soul-hungry  people, 
and  say  good-bye.  We  promised  to  come  back 
when  we  could,  telhng  them  we  must  go  back  to 
our  little  ones,  and  the  work  in  Leon.  The 
father  and  mother  had  seven  bright-faced  boys, 
and  asked  us  if  we  would  take  them  into  our 
school,  and  we  told  them  we  would  if  we  could 
but  we  were  not  able  for  lack  of  means. 

Returning  it  seemed  as  if  the  slow  train  would 
never  get  to  Leon.  We  were  tired,  and  our  feet 
were  blistered  from  the  long  walk  in  the  terrible 
heat.  But  as  we  looked  to  the  Lord  to  refresh 
our  bodies  and  heal  our  sore  feet,  the  Holy 
Spirit  came  sweeping  through  our  beings,  so 
refreshing  us  that  we  hardly  knew  we  had  gone 
through  such  an  ordeal. 

In  a  few  days  there  came  a  call  to  another 
home  far  away  in  the  mountains,  where  the 
people  were  begging  that  the  Gospel  be  brought 


TJini  Ccnfral  .Inicrica  155 

to  them.  I  took  a  native  woman  with  me  and 
we  traveled  on  the  train  as  far  as  we  could  go. 
We  purposed  going  to  the  home  of  some  na- 
tive Christians  who  lived  in  that  town,  and 
who  had  been  in  the  meetings  at  Leon,  where 
we  thought  to  rest  until  the  sun  went  down,  as 
the  other  trip  had  taught  me  not  to  walk  far 
under  the  hot  sun.  As  we  passed  down  the 
street  I  heard  the  people  calling  out  in  Spanish, 
"Hay  una  Evangelista!" (There  is  a  missionary!) 
But  I  thought  nothing  of  it,  knowing  they  were 
not  accustomed  to  seeing  foreigners  walking 
through  their  streets. 

Arriving  at  the  house  of  the  Christians  I  was 
told  the  people  would  not  allow  missionaries  to 
come  to  that  town.  Some  months  before,  one 
of  their  young  men  had  been  converted.  When 
he  came  back  and  told  it,  men,  women,  and 
children,  with  the  priests  as  leaders,  gathered, 
and  cut  him  to  pieces  in  the  street  near  the 
house  where  we  then  were. 

The  dear  native  Christians  were  looking  for 
the  people  to  come  at  any  moment  and  kill 
them.  They  declared  that  we  all  would  be 
killed  that  day.  I  began  praying  to  find  out 
if  I  had  missed  the  Lord's  will  by  coming  there, 
but  the  Lord  spoke  to  my  heart,  saying  all  would 
be  well  and  not  to  fear  what  the  people  might 
do.  So  we  gathered  inside  and  prayed  to  God 
for  protection,  and  to  convict  the  people  of  their 
awful  crimes.  When  we  arose  from  prayer  a 
large  crowd  was  gathered  outside,  watching  us. 


156  On  Mule  Back 

The  house  was  made  of  small  poles  stuck  in  the 
ground,  with  large  cracks  all  around,  so  we  could 
easily  see  and  be  seen. 

We  planned  to  leave  the  house  at  sunset,  to 
walk  out  to  the  farm  where  we  were  going  to 
preach  the  Gospel.  I  told  the  dear  ones  not  to 
fear,  but  to  trust  God.  However,  they  were 
greatly  frightened  and  said  the  mob  would  cer- 
tainly kill  me  when  I  went  out.  But  I  knew  I 
had  been  sent  there  by  the  Lord,  and  all  would 
be  well. 

I  went  out  and  spoke  to  the  crowd,  and  then 
started  down  the  street,  leading  to  the  country. 
When  I  looked  around  only  my  woman  was  with 
me.  She  told  me  the  others  had  gone  another 
way,  hoping  to  miss  the  crowd,  which  I  saw  was 
following  us.  I  saw  some  women  give  a  boy  a 
machette,  and  tell  him  to  cut  me  with  it.  He 
came  running  toward  me,  talking  in  Spanish  as 
fast  as  he  could,  and  swearing  at  me.  I  went 
right  ahead.  He  kept  at  my  side,  swearing. 
The  mob  followed  us.  We  walked  on  until  we 
came  to  where  the  road  left  the  town,  and  turned 
into  the  country.  I  felt  the  power  of  God  com- 
ing upon  me  in  a  way  I  had  never  felt  before. 

The  veins  of  my  neck  swelled,  and  my  body 
began  to  shake.  Then  I  turned  toward  the  mob 
and  began  speaking  to  them  in  tongues.  They 
turned  and  ran,  until  not  one  was  to  be  seen.  A 
little  disappointed  feeling  came  into  my  heart. 
I  said,  "Jesus,  I  wanted  to  die  a  martyr  for  you 
here  in  this  dark  land,  but  now  the  mob  is  gone." 


Thru  Central  .liiicrica  157 

The  power  still  filled  my  being,  until  I  could  do 
nothing  but  worship  God.  The  native  Christ- 
ians came  uj).  1  hey  said  they  had  seen  the  peo- 
ple run,  and  heard  them  exclaim  that  fire  fell  from 
Heaven  and  burned  them,  until  they  could 
endure  it  no  longer,  and  they  had  to  run.  1  did 
not  see  the  fire,  but  felt  it  burning  in  my  soul  in 
a  might}'  way. 

At  The  Farm 

I  preached  and  sang  until  midnight,  and  still 
the  people  begged  me  to  tell  them  more  "good 
news"  as  they  called  it.  Truly  it  was  good  news 
of  great  joy  to  those  poor  people  who  had  so 
long  been  under  the  heavy  yoke  of  the  enemy. 
There  was  a  family  of  fifteen,  also  several  hired 
men,  besides  about  twelve  travelers  who  had 
stopped  for  the  night.  They  had  only  one  room. 
When  I  told  them  I  could  not  preach  any  more 
that  night,  but  must  have  some  rest  for  my 
body,  and  a  place  where  I  could  lie  down,  they 
all  went  into  the  room — family,  travelers,  hired 
men,  some  thirty  people  in  all.  They  took  two 
young  calves  and  three  small  deer  with  them, 
also  several  hens  with  their  little  chicks. 

I  decided  not  to  sleep  with  all  those  people 
and  animals  in  that  room,  with  no  ventilation — 
as  the  adobe  houses  are  built  without  any 
windows.  I  told  them  to  fix  me  a  cot  outside 
in  the  corridor.  They  said  wild  animals  came  at 
night,  and  I  must  not  sleep  outside.  But  I 
decided  I  would  almost  prefer  being  eaten  by  wild 
animals  to  being  smothered.     As  I  insisted,  they 


158  On  Mule  Back 

put  a  cot  for  me  outside,  and  I  did  not  awaken 
to  see  whether  any  wild  animals  came.  If  any 
came,  they  did  not  molest  me. 

Arising  next  morning  I  ate  ni}^  breakfast  off 
of  banana  leaves,  then  gathered  the  family  for 
prayer.  How  the  power  of  God  did  fall  and  fill 
every  hungry  heart!  After  prayer  I  told  them 
I  must  leave  them,  and  return  home.  We  gath- 
ered our  blankets  together,  and  climbed  into  the 
ox  cart  which  had  been  brought  to  carry  us  to 
the  railroad  station.  I  was  too  tall  for  the 
cowhide  covering,  which  was  intended  to  pro- 
tect us  from  the  sun,  so  I  sat  in  the  back  and  let 
my  feet  hang  down  over  the  end,  and  so  rode  to 
town.  We  sang  and  talked  all  the  way,  about 
the  love  of  Jesus.  Several  times  we  stopped  at 
houses  by  the  roadside  and  preached  to  the 
people,  giving  them  tracts  and  Bibles.. 

A  large  crowd  was  at  the  station  waiting  for 
the  train.  I  went  to  the  platform  and  spoke  to 
the  crowd.  They  asked  me  to  give  them  Bibles 
and  tracts.  Some  of  them  were  members  of  the 
mob  which  the  night  before  had  been  ready  to 
kill  us  for  coming  into  their  town  to  preach  the 
Gospel. 

We  arrived  at  Leon  very  tired  and  needing 
rest.  But  there  were  so  many  to  be  ministered 
unto  and  the  needs  were  so  great  that  I  went 
right  into  the  meetings,  where  God  blessed  my 
soul  and  rested  my  body. 


Thru  Cent  Kill  .  hiicrica 


159 


Thru  Central  .Inicrica  1()1 

The  Lord  Rolled  the  Sea  Away 

One  day  a  young  man  who  had  been  in  the 
United  States,  came  to  see  us.  He  spoke  Eng- 
lish well,  also  had  been  in  different  churches  and 
had  some  knowledge  of  the  Gospel.  He  came 
many  times  to  read  and  pray  with  us.  One  day 
he  asked  if  we  w^ould  not  go  to  the  beach  for  a 
day's  outing.  We  felt  we  could  not  spare  the 
time,  and  it  would  be  too  much  of  a  luxury  for 
us.  But  as  he  insisted  on  bringing  his  machine 
and  taking  us,  w^e  consented  to  go  and  prepared  a 
little  lunch.  Before  going  we  asked  if  we  might 
preach  to  the  people  on  the  road.  He  consented, 
so  we  went  for  the  day,  taking  Bibles  and  tracts 
with  us.  Many  were  the  precious  souls  to  whom 
we  spoke  about  the  Lord  Jesus,  giving  them  the 
little  printed  messengers.  Our  hearts  w^ere 
moved  with  compassion  as  w^e  saw'  the  extreme 
poverty  of  the  poor  people  out  in  the  country, 
with  no  one  to  love  or  help  them.  The 
roads  were  almost  impassable  and  the  heat  was 
intense,  but  at  last  we  saw  the  white-caps  dash- 
ing up  against  the  shore,  and  felt  the  cool  breeze 
from  the  ocean.  We  stopped  some  distance 
from  the  w^ater  and  walked  down  to  the  beach. 
Many  Indians  w^ere  there.  Some  could  not 
speak  Spanish,  but  had  a  sign  language.  We 
spoke  to  all  who  could  understand  us,  and  they 
told  the  rest  about  the  Ciospel,  for  although  they 
spoke  Spanish,  they  also  understood  the  sign 
language. 


162  On  Mule  Back 

There  was  a  dressing  place  for  bathers  and  a 
stand  where  refreshments  were  sold  by  the 
Indians,  who  could  not  speak  Spanish.  I  sat 
down  in  the  shade  while  the  rest  went  bathing 
in  the  surf.  Suddenly  I  was  startled  by  the 
screams  of  my  daughter,  Alma.  She  and  the 
young  man  were  quite  a  distance  out  in  the 
breakers.  They  were  drowning,  and  calling  for 
help.  I  saw  them  go  under.  My  husband  was 
trying  to  reach  them,  but  the  strong  under- 
current took  him  down  also.  I  prayed  and 
called  on  God  to  save  them. 

Running  to  the  Indians,  I  tried  to  tell  them 
to  run  with  a  rope  and  save  them.  I  could  not 
make  them  understand,  but  suddenly  began 
talking  in  tongues,  with  signs,  which  I  after- 
wards learned  was  their  language.  They  told 
the  young  man  that  I  had  implored  them  to 
help  save  my  daughter,  husband  and  himself. 
They  ran  to  help  Alma  and  the  young  man,  but 
they  could  not  be  seen.  I  started  in  that  direc- 
tion calling  on  the  Lord  to  save  them.  The 
sea  rolled  up  in  a  great  heap,  and  there  they 
were  on  the  sand.  How  it  all  happened  I  can- 
not tell.  But  I  know  the  Lord  rolled  the  sea 
away,  and  they  were  saved.  They  were  filled 
with  water  and  Alma  was  sick.  But  the  Lord 
soon  delivered  her.  The  young  man  knew  the 
Lord  had  saved  them  from  death.  He  was  an 
expert  swimmer,  but  could  not  swim  in  that 
strong  undercurrent,  which  had  drawn  them 
so  far  out  before  they  realized  the  danger. 


TJirn  Cent  rill  .hiirrica 


\tK^ 


Tlint  Ccnfral  .Uncrica  165 

How  wc  (lid  jiraise  God  for  His  Avondcrful 
deliverance!  It  was  a  mighty  miracle,  which 
convinced  the  Indians  that  God  had  delivered, 
for  they  saw  the  waters  rolled  up  in  a  heaji.  It 
made  them  l)elie\e.  The  news  of  the  wonderful 
miracle  God  had  performed  tor  the  missionaries 
soon  spread  about  the  cit}'.  It  was  j)ul)lished 
in  the  papers,  and  many  who  had  not  come  before, 
came  to  see  us  and  were  convinced  of  the  Gos- 
pel. Many  people  came  from  all  parts  of  the 
Republic  to  hear  the  Gospel,  and  to  ask  for 
Bibles. 

The  dear  saints  in  the  homeland  sent  us 
Bibles,  Testaments  and  tracts,  and  the  Word  of 
God  went  forth.  We  cannot  tell  how  many 
precious  souls  were  reached  by  the  bread  cast 
on  the  waters,  but  we  shall  know  when  we  reach 
the  beautiful  land  beyond,  and  see  their  dear 
faces  shining  with  heavenly  glory.  We  are  told 
to  sow  beside  all  waters,  and  are  promised  that 
"he  that  goeth  forth  and  weepeth,  bearing 
precious  seed,  shall  doubtless  come  again 
with  rejoicing,  bringing  his  sheaves  with 
him."     Psalm  126:6. 

Many  were  the  nights  and  times  we  went 
forth  weeping  over  the  sheep  that  were  out  of 
the  fold,  lost  among  the  idols,  vice  and  sin  of 
every  kind.  It  was  almost  more  than  we  could 
bear  when  so  many  of  the  people  came  to  us, 
and  we  were  unable  to  take  them  all  in  and  help 
them.  We  could  only  weep  and  cry  to  the  Lord 
to  help  us  to  reach  them,  and  to  stir  up  the  saints 
at  home  to  give  all  they  possibly  could  to  aid  in 


166  On  Mule  Bock 

helping  them.  For  this  purpose  we  are  sending 
forth  this  book,  that  funds  may  be  raised  to 
send  Bibles  and  tracts  to  these  people. 

It  was  at  this  time,  when  many  were  pressing 
upon  us  for  help  and  our  means  were  so  limited 
that  God  told  us  to  return  to  the  homeland  and 
tell  the  church  of  the  great  need  of  sending  more 
Bibles,  tracts  and  missionaries  to  these  destitute 
fields.  As  we  looked  to  the  Lord  and  told  Him 
we  did  not  have  the  money  to  get  back  home, 
He  spoke  and  told  us  we  were  to  pack  up  and 
go  to  the  port,  and  He  would  send  the  money 
for  us  there  for  our  fare.  So  we  began  making 
ready. 

Another  missionary  and  his  wife  came  by, 
going  home  on  furlough.  They  were  going  via 
Guatemala,  believing  they  could  save  quite  a 
sum  of  money  by  going  that  way.  But  the 
Lord  had  told  us  to  go  via  Panama.  We  packed 
our  trunks  and  made  ready.  But  oh,  how  we  did 
hate  to  tell  our  dear  people  we  were  leaving  them, 
for  we  loved  them  so,  and  they  loved  and  clung 
to  us.  We  knew  they  would  feel  so  badly  to 
have  us  leave  them. 

When  we  went  to  the  meeting  that  night  we 
told  them  the  Lord  had  led  us  to  return  to  our 
homeland,  to  put  the  great  needs  of  their 
country  before  the  people.  They  cried,  both 
men  and  women,  and  pressed  upon  us  until  we 
thought  we  could  never  get  ready  to  start.  I 
had  to  put  our  suit-cases  in  a  room  and  lock  the 
doors  so  I  could  finish  packing,  for  the  house  was 


Thru  Central  Aiiwrua 


107 


Where  Carl  attended  native  school  to  study  Spanish.    Neither 
the  teacher  or  any  of  the  pupils  could  speak  a  word  of  Eng- 
lish, so  he  very  soon  acquired  the  Spanish. 


Thru  Central  Aiiicrica  169 

full  of  precious  souls  begging  to  hear  more  of 
the  Gospel,  and  telling  us  how  much  they  loved 
us,  and  what  a  great  blessing  we  had  been  to 
them.  Our  hearts  were  breaking  over  the 
people,  for  they  were  as  sheep  without  a  shep- 
herd. May  God  bless  and  keep  them  true  to 
Him. 

We  were  packed  and  ready  to  go  to  the  train 
when  there  came  a  big  procession  of  people 
marching  into  the  house.  Some  of  them  we 
had  not  met  before,  and  some  we  had  seen  on 
the  streets  and  in  the  markets,  when  we  were 
preaching  and  giving  out  tracts.  Many  of  them 
had  come  to  our  meetings,  had  heard  and  ac- 
cepted the  Gospel,  and  had  been  filled  with  the 
blessed  H0I3'  Spirit.  They  brought  many  i)res- 
ents,  among  them  a  nice  leather  bill-book 
for  my  husband,  a  manicuring  set  for  Alma, 
pretty  fans  for  me,  and  boxes  of  candy  for  Carl. 
Many  useful  presents  they  brought,  some  of 
which  had  cost  much  money,  for  everything  is 
much  more  expensive  there  than  in  our  country. 
Even  rich  people  had  come  and  brought  pres- 
ents to  show  their  appreciation  of  our  mission- 
ary work  among  them. 

When  the  train  pulled  in,  and  we  were  about 
to  go  on  board,  several  doctors  and  lawyers  and 
the  judge  of  the  city  came,  saying  they  were 
going  to  the  port  with  us  to  stay  until  our  ship 
sailed,  and  there  was  the  crowd  standing  outside 
waving  their  hands  and  saying,  "Good-bye,  don't 
forget  to  pray  for  us,  and  send  us  Bibles."     Oh 


170  On  Mule  Back 

that  scene!  We  shall  never  forget  it.  As  the 
train  started  the  people  hung  on  to  the  side, 
waving  their  hands,  and  calling  "Good-bye,  our 
good  missionaries;  we  love  you  so  much." 

We  had  many  opportunities  to  witness  for 
Jesus  and  to  give  out  literature  on  the  way 
to  the  port.  The  people  were  so  hungry  they 
w^ould  run  and  beg  for  more  tracts. 

When  we  arrived  at  the  port  station  we  were 
taken  to  a  hotel  by  one  of  the  men  who  had  gone 
with  us,  and  there  a  fine  dinner  was  given  us  in 
a  special  dining  room,  and  we  had  a  nice  time. 

We  found  we  must  appear  before  the  American 
consul  twice  a  day  for  several  days  before  sail- 
ing, as  we  had  come  from  a  yellow  fever  in- 
fected region.  We  began  to  go  that  morn- 
ing, for  the  ship  bound  for  Panama  would 
come  in  seven  days. 

We  made  ready  to  leave  on  that  boat,  but 
there  wa^s  no  money  for  the  fare.  As  I  prayed 
in  my  room  one  morning  the  Lord  said,  "Go  and 
ask  for  your  mail."  I  thought,  "I  don't  believe 
the  mail  is  opened  here,  but  on  arriving  in  the 
port  is  immediately  sent  to  the  different  parts  of 
the  country."  But  as  I  prayed  again  the  Lord 
spoke  once  more,  "Go  and  ask  for  your  mail." 
I  knew  it  was  the  voice  of  the  Lord,  for  He  had 
wonderfully  spoken  to  us  and  led  us  all  the  way, 
so  I  went.  On  asking  for  the  mail  I  was  told 
that  no  mail  was  coming  for  two  weeks,  and 
when  it  did  come  it  would  not  be  opened  there 
but  would  be  sent  out  to  the  different  parts  of 
the  republic. 


I'ltni  (  cut  till  .  liiirrica 


171 


Women  coming  from  the  market  place 


TJini  Central  .liiicrica  173 

I  returned  to  my  room,  wondering.  I  be- 
lieved the  Lord  had  sent  me  for  our  mail,  but 
why  had  the  postal  officials  said  it  could  not  be 
obtained  there?  Besides,  there  was  no  mail 
boat  coming  until  after  the  other  boat  had  sailed. 
But  as  I  prayed  I  heard  the  voice  of  the  Lord 
telling  me  to  go  again  and  ask  for  my  mail.  I 
waited  until  the  next  morning,  then  went  again. 
Once  more  the  postmaster  told  me  the  same  thing, 
that  it  would  be  impossible  for  me  to  get  my  mail 
there  when  it  did  come.  I  must  admit  that 
I  felt  at  a  loss  to  know  what  to  do,  or  what 
it  all  meant.  But  I  couldn't  doubt  the  voice  of 
the  Lord.  I  waited  another  day,  and  prayed 
until  I  was  sure  the  Lord  was  speaking  to  me. 
Though  I  couldn't  see  how  it  all  could  work  out, 
yet  I  knew  that  He  knew,  and  had  spoken. 

I  went  again  to  the  postmaster  and  explained 
to  him  that  we  were  sailing  on  the  ship  which 
was  then  in  the  harbor,  and  which  was  to  leave 
in  three  days,  but  again  he  told  me  the  same 
thing;  there  would  be  no  mail  boat  in  for  two 
weeks,  and  it  would  be  impossible  to  receive  my 
mail  before  that  time.  I  returned  to  my  room 
and,  falling  upon  my  face,  I  cried  to  the  Lord  for 
help,  for  this  seemed  more  than  I  could  bear,  for 
the  enemy  was  taunting  me,  saying  that  the  Lord 
was  not  speaking  to  me,  that  we  had  been  de- 
ceived, that  the  Lord  had  not  even  told  us  to 
come  to  the  port,  and  that  our  fare  would  cer- 
tainly not  be  provided.  Nevertheless,  the  voice 
of  the  Lord  came  again  to  me,  saying,  "Ask  for 
your  mail  tomorrow  morning." 


174  On  Mule  Back 

When  we  arose  the  next  morning  we  saw 
another  ship  at  anchor  in  the  port.  It  had  come 
in  during  the  night.  My  husband  strolled  down 
to  the  dock,  and  was  informed  that  this  was  the 
mail  boat  from  Panama,  also  that  our  ship  was 
not  to  sail  until  the  following  day,  because  the 
cargo  was  not  yet  unloaded.  When  he  returned 
with  the  welcome  news  I  began  to  pray  again 
about  the  mail,  feeling  certain  there  was  some- 
thing for  us  on  that  ship.  Then  I  went  again  to 
see  the  postmaster,  this  time  taking  a  Testament 
to  give  him.  This  seemed  the  wrong  thing  to 
to  do,  for  he  was  a  fanatical  church  man,  and  the 
Gospel  was  not  allowed  to  be  preached  in  that 
port.  But  we  had  gone  unmolested  all  over  the 
place,  distributing  tracts,  and  preaching  to  the 
people,  and  the  dear  natives  had  begged  for 
Bibles  and  the  little  papers  (tracts). 

Walking  up  to  the  office  window,  I  told  the 
man  the  Lord  had  spoken  to  me,  telling  me  there 
was  mail  there  for  me,  which  had  come  in  on 
that  ship.  He  came  to  the  window,  began  talk- 
ing about  the  Lord,  and  asked  me  how  I  knew 
the  Lord  had  said  there  was  mail  there  for  us. 
I  answered  that  we  had  come  to  port  in  order  to 
sail  on  the  ship  then  in  harbor,  that  we  did  not 
have  our  fare,  but  the  Lord  had  told  us  the  fare 
would  be  provided  after  we  reached  the  port.  I 
was  sure  there  was  mail  for  us  there,  and  would 
he  please  give  it  to  me?  Handing  him  the  Testa- 
ment, I  told  him  to  read  it,  and  learn  about  the 
wonderful  Savior  who  could  come  into  our 
hearts  and  talk  to  us,  and  lead  us  in  such  straight 


Thru  Ci'iihiil  .liiwrica 


175 


as 

M 

< 


Thru  Central  .liiicrica  177 

paths.  He  began  to  weep,  and  told  nic  he  had 
never  before  seen  a  Bible,  had  hated  and  j)erse- 
cuted  the  missionaries,  had  hated  me  when  I 
came  inquiring  for  mail,  and  had  not  even  be- 
lieved in  God  before;  but  my  coming  so  man\- 
times,  saying  the  Lord  had  told  me  there  was  mail 
coming  for  me,  in  spite  of  my  knowing  that  the 
mail  ship  was  not  due  for  two  weeks,  then  the 
arrival  of  the  mail  ship  before  time,  and  the 
postponed  sailing  of  the  other  vessel  upon  which 
I  said  we  were  to  sail,  had  convinced  him  that 
God  was  actually  speaking  to  me,  and  he  promis- 
ed to  try  to  get  our  mail.  However,  there 
were  thousands  of  letters,  and  he  was  rather 
doubtful  if  he  could  find  our  mail  in  the  midst  of 
so  much  other,  but  promised  that  if  I  would  re- 
turn in  the  afternoon  he  would  do  his  best  for 
me.  In  the  afternoon,  I  returned  for  the  mail, 
which  I  was  sure  would  be  there.  The  man 
came  hurrying  to  me,  and  handed  me  two  regis- 
tered letters,  saying  they  were  on  the  top  of  the 
pile  of  mail  in  the  first  bag  he  opened.  Surely 
God  had  spoken  to  me,  he  said,  and  he  knew 
now  there  was  a  God,  and  he  was  going  to  serve 
Him,  so  as  to  have  Him  speak  to  him,  too.  And 
very  earnestly  he  promised  to  read  the  Testa- 
ment, also  he  asked  for  a  Bible  for  his  wile, 
and  tracts  for  his  friends. 

When  I  opened  the  two  letters  there,  lacking 
twenty-five  dollars,  was  the  amount  for  our  fare. 
We  sailed  the  following  morning.  Later  I  went 
into  my  stateroom  to  find  out  the  exact  amount 
of  money  we  had,  to  make  sure  how  much  was 


178  On  Mule  Back 

lacking  for  the  entire  trip  to  the  homeland.  Sure 
enough,  there  was  exactly  twenty-five  dollars 
lacking.  Again  I  looked  to  the  dear  Lord  for 
help  to  believe  for  the  needed  amount,  and  again 
He  spoke,  telling  me  to  open  my  Bible.  I  did  so, 
and  my  eyes  fell  upon  this  scripture: 

"And  the  Lord,  He  it  is  that  doth  go 
before  thee;  He  will  be  with  thee;  He  will 
not  fail  thee,  neither  forsake  thee;  fear 
not,  neither  be  dismayed." — Deut.  31:8. 

Looking  at  the  little  scripture  calendar  hang- 
ing on  the  wall  I  saw  in  the  space  for  the  day  on 
which  we  would  land  in  Panama  the  identical 
verse  I  had  just  read.  Strengthened  and  en- 
couraged by  this,  I  felt  that  Jesus  would  make 
it  all  right,  and  that  we  were  simply  to  trust  and 
obey. 

Upon  arriving  in  Panama  we  were  taken  to 
the  American  Bible  House,  where  we  were  treat- 
ed with  the  greatest  kindness.  Dear  Mr.  Duffey 
and  his  wife  gave  us  much  valuable  informa- 
tion about  the  whole  of  Central  America,  as  they 
were  in  touch  with  every  mission  station,  and 
had  themselves  been  missionaries  there  for  many 
years. 

We  had  to  wait  three  days  for  the  ship  to  New 
Orleans,  and  we  sweetly  rested  in  the  Lord  and 
trusted  Him  to  supply  that  twenty-five  dollars. 

One  day  we  met  a  young  Mexican  on  the 
street,  whom  we  had  known  in  Nicaragua.     He 


I'hnt  Central  .liiirrica  179 

was  a  traveling  salesman  from  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
We  had  given  him  a  Bible  and  talked  to  him 
about  giving  his  heart  to  the  Lord,  and  he  had 
been  very  much  interested  in  our  \vork  in 
Nicaragua.  We  in\ited  him  to  visit  us  at  the 
Bible  House,  and  in  the  exening  he  came.  We 
read  the  Word  of  ()od  and  had  pra>er,  and  he 
told  us  of  his  ha\ing  persecuted  the  missionaries 
in  Mexico.  He  had  never  seen  a  Bible  before 
he  met  us,  but  in  the  United  States  he  had  learn- 
ed that  missionaries  did  a  good  work  among  the 
people,  so  he  no  longer  hated  them.  He  said 
he  was  glad  to  have  met  us  and  heard  us  i)reach 
the  Gospel.  "In  return  for  this  Bible  which  you 
have  given  me,"  he  said,  "and  the  way  in  which 
you  have  talked  to  me,  I  feel  I  should  do  some- 
thing for  you,  and  the  Lord,"  and  he  passed 
twenty-five  dollars  across  the  table  to  me 
Praise  the  Lord!  there  was  the  rest  of  our  fare 
home.  Surely  God  does  temper  the  wind  to 
the  shorn  lamb,  and  take  care  of  His  little  ones, 
leading  them  in  and  out  where  they  can  hnd 
pasture. 

We  sailed  the  next  day.  Many  were  the 
precious  souls  reached  by  us  with  the  Gospel 
while  we  were  in  Panama;  also  on  land  and  on 
sea  after  we  left  there.  Shall  we  not  praise  God 
forever  for  all  His  goodness  to  us,  and  for  the 
privilege  of  being  called  to  preach  to  the  nations 
of  the  earth? 


180  0)1  Mule  Back 

Put  ye  in  the  sickle,  for  the  harvest  truly  is  ripe; 
Put  ye  in  the  sickle,  and  reap  with  all  your  might; 
Put  ye  in  the  sickle,  for  the  Lord  calleth  thee; 
Put  ye  in  the  sickle,  and  to  Him,  ever  faithful  be; 

Put  ye  in  the  sickle,  ye  worker  of  the  living  God; 
Put  ye  in  the  sickle,  in  every  land  ye  tread ; 
Put  ye  in  the  sickle,  for  the  day  is  surely  nigh; 
Put  ye  in  the  sickle,  for  Jesus  cometh  from  on  high. 

— Given  in  tongues,  with  interpretation. 


Thru  Central  .liiicrica 


181 


C 
W 


LEAVING  NICARAGUA  FOR  PANAMA 

We  sailed  on  the  Steamship  San  Juan.  After 
placing  our  things  in  the  stateroom  we  went  on 
deck  and  sat  down.  A  Httle  South  American 
woman  came  o\'er  to  me  and  asked,  "Are  \'ou  a 
missionary?"  I  told  her  I  was.  "Well,"  she 
said,  "I  thought  you  must  be  a  missionary,  for 
no  one  else  would  be  awa>'  down  here  so  far 
away  from  their  homeland." 

She  had  been  in  the  States  studying  to  be  a 
nurse,  and  had  been  saved  through  a  Salvation 
Army  meeting  on  the  street.  She  took  my  arm 
and  said,  "Come  right  over  here.  There  is  a 
poor  blind  man  from  Salvador,  and  he  badly 
needs  help." 

We  thanked  God,  for  here  was  another  chance 
to  cast  our  bread  upon  the  waters,  another 
hungry  soul  reaching  out  for  the   truth. 

We  took  some  tracts  and  Testaments  and 
went  over  to  the  man.  He  said  he  had  heard  a 
traveling  missionary  preach  the  Gospel  several 
years  ago  in  his  own  country,  and  had  longed  to 
know  more  about  it;  now  here  we  were  to  tell 
him.  So  he  praised  the  Lord,  and  we  wept  and 
told  him  Jesus  loves  us  so  much  that  He  never 
fails  to  answer  the  prayer  of  an  honest  soul. 

We  gave  him  a  Testament  and  some  tracts 
on  Salvation  and  Divine  Healing  and  the  dear 
little  woman  read  them  to  him.  Day  after  day 
he  asked  for  more  to  be  read  to  him.     The  wo- 


184  On  Mule  Back 

man  asked  if  we  could  not  give  her  some  to  take 
home  to  Ecuador  to  her  people. 

There  was  only  one  man  on  the  ship  who  did 
not  take  tracts  and  read  them  and  ask  for  more. 
This  man  said  he  had  not  read  the  Bible  since  he 
was  a  child.  Now  he  was  too  old.  As  we  look- 
ed at  him  and  saw  the  hardness  in  his  face,  a 
great  pity  came  into  our  hearts,  and  we  asked 
the  Lord  to  have  mercy  on  him  and  save  him. 

We  arrived  in  one  port  in  Costa  Rica  on  Sep- 
tember 15th,  Spain's  Independence  Day.  The 
whole  country  was  celebrating.  Our  ship  would 
have  to  wait  here  several  days,  perhaps  a  week, 
the  captain  said,  because  all  the  people  got 
drunk  on  that  day,  and  it  would  take  several 
days  for  them  to  sober  up.  We  arrived  at  six 
in  the  morning.  The  noise  from  the  cannon 
and  other  things  was  terrible.  We  knew  about 
how  much  time  we  had  to  make  connections  in 
Panama,  and  that  we  could  not  stay  in  this  port 
over  one  day  without  missing  connections.  So 
we  prayed  that  God  would  make  these  people 
unload  the  ship  that  day  so  that  we^might  go  on. 

At  twelve,  when  we  w^ere  having  lunch,  our 
ship  was  moving  out  to  sea.  The  men  had  come 
with  their  lighters  and  unloaded  several  tons  of 
the  cargo,  and  we  were  on  our  way.  The  dear 
old  man  who  would  not  read  the  tract,  ate  at  our 
table.  He  said  he  had  lived  there  and  in 
Panama  for  fifty  years,  and  that  was  the  first 
time  he  ever  knew  them  to  do  such  a  thing.  He 
knew  it  was  because  we  prayed.  So  God  was 
good  not  to  leave  him  without  a  witness. 


Thru  Central  America  185 

A  man  and  his  wife  were  going  to  South 
America.  They  took  tracts  and  Testaments 
along  which  we  gave  them,  and  said  they  were 
glad  to  have  the  light  on  the  Second  Coming  of 
the  Lord,  and  on  Divine  Healing. 

There  were  people  on  board  who  were  going 
to  Japan,  China,  India,  England  and  the  United 
States.  All  took  with  them  the  Word  of  God 
which  we  had  cast  upon  the  waters.  Two 
young  men  on  their  way  to  school  in  New  York, 
took  along  Testaments  to  read.  They  said 
they  no  longer  believed  in  the  Church  of  Rome, 
and  wanted  to  read  the  Bible. 

Another  boy  on  his  way  to  South  America 
came  to  talk  with  us  about  the  Bible.  He  said 
he  wanted  to  read  the  Bible  but  had  never  had 
the  opportunity.  So  he  sat  on  deck  and  read  it. 
How  he  did  rejoice  to  know  the  truth!  He  told 
us  how  he  had  gone  to  the  different  temples  of 
the  idols  and  saints  seeking  peace,  but  had 
come  away  from  them  all  without  receiving  any 
help.  But  now  he  knew  the  truth,  and  wanted 
to  carry  the  good  news  to  his  people  who  were 
still  in  the  darkness.  He  said,  "Why  don't 
more  missionaries  come  and  tell  us  the  truth? 
Won't  3^ou  go  back  to  your  homeland  and  tell 
them  of  our  needs  and  the  darkness  we  are  in?" 

Stewardesses,  waitresses,  captains  and  officers 
all  heard  the  story  of  the  Gospel,  through  the 
bread  we  cast  upon  the  waters.  One  officer  said 
he  was  glad  that  someone  thought  of  the  men 
at  sea.  They  were  always  going  and  had  no  time 
to  attend  church  and  hear  the  Gospel.     He  had 


186  On  Mule  Back 

had  Christian  parents,  but  they  were  dead.  His 
heart  was  touched  and  with  tears  running  down 
his  cheeks  he  said,  "May  God  bless  you  for  giving 
me  this  Testament.  I  shall  read  it,  and  pray 
every  day,  as  I  want  to  meet  my  dear  mother 
in  Heaven."  He  had  been  at  sea  twelve  years, 
and  that  was  the  first  time  anyone  had  said  a 
word  to  him  about  salvation. 

The  doctor  on  the  ship  was  so  interested  he 
would  leave  his  office  for  hours  and  come  and 
talk  with  us.  He  had  been  on  that  line  many 
years  and  he  had  been  shocked  to  see  the  con- 
dition in  the  Latin-American  countries,  and  the 
church  at  home  seemed  to  be  doing  nothing. 
He  took  tracts  and  papers  and  talked  with  us 
about  prophecy.  He  said  he  knew  the  Lord 
was  coming  soon.  We  invited  him  to  meetings 
with  us  at  Colon.  He  came  to  the  Bible  House 
and  to  the  meetings  and  said  he  was  going  to 
a  Pentecostal  meeting  when  he  returned  to  the 
States. 

While  in  Panama  we  visited  the  Sea  Wall 
M.  E.  Church,  where  there  is  a  work  among  the 
natives.  But  all  who  come  to  the  school  have 
to  pay.  That  leaves  the  poor  population  wholly 
untouched  by  the  Gospel.  We  looked  over  the 
field  and  found  it  a  great  white  harvest  field, 
where  laborers  are  badly  needed.  In  all  these 
parts  the  people  are  hungry  for  the  Gospel. 

There  is  a  little  union  church  in  Colon  in 
which  a  few  people  are  praying  for  a  revival. 
It  is  a  wonderful  opportunity  for  a  band  of 
workers  to  go  and  hold  evangelistic  meetings. 


Tlint  Central  .1  in  erica 


1S7 


Thru  Central  .hiicrica  1<S9 

There  are  many  English-speaking  people  in 
these  parts,  but  Pentecost  has  not  been  ])reache(l. 
We  believe  God  will  raise  up  workers  and  send 
them  to  this  place.  Besides  the  people  who 
live  here,  there  are  hundreds  of  ships  coming 
and  going  to  all  parts  of  the  world.  Many  souls 
could  be  reached. 

As  I  stood  on  the  beach  one  day. 

And  saw  the  breakers  roll  in  from  the  way, 

The  great  waters  piled  up  high — 

I  cried,  "O,  (jod!  open  the  Hood  gates  of  mercy 

Send  rivers  of  Thy  Spirit,  don't  pass  this  people  by." 


SAILING  FROM  PANAMA 

Finding  a  ship  that  was  to  sail  for  New 
Orleans  we  went  aboard  and  set  forth,  carrying 
with  us  many  more  tracts  and  Testaments  so 
that  we  might  cast  bread  upon  the  waters  among 
other  people. 

Soon  after  leaving  the  port  I  noticed  a  man  on 
board  whom  w^e  had  met  in  another  place.  He 
was  a  gambler,  who  traveled  and  gambled  on 
ships  all  the  time.  We  had  spoken  to  him  of 
the  Bible  and  about  the  Lord,  but  he  had  said 
he  did  not  think  anyone  ought  to  talk  about  the 
Bible  and  religion,  as  such  talk  would  make 
people  lose  their  minds.  We  were  only 
getting  people  stirred  up,  and  that  wasn't  good. 
I  heard  him  tell  the  captain  we  w^ere  mission- 
aries, and  that  wherever  we  went  we  talked 
about  God  and  the  Bible,  but  he  hoped  we  would 
not  be  allowed  to  do  so  on  this  trip. 

Some  of  the  people  looked  so  very  aristocratic 
that  the  enemy  said  to  me,  "You  had  better  not 
give  out  tracts  and  Testaments  on  this  boat,  as 
the  people  will  not  listen,  for  they  will  think  you 
are  a  fanatic."  But  I  felt  I  must  let  my  light 
shine  here  as  well  as  in  other  places.  So  I  went 
to  my  stateroom  to  pray.  I  opened  my  Bible  to 
read  and  saw  in  it  a  little  tract,  containing  these 
words: 

"Have  you  overcome  the  worldly  opinions 
of   the   sect   which    is    everywhere   spoken 


Thru  Central  .liiwrira 


I'M 


An  Indian  woman  who  came  to  the  meeting  and  was  saved. 


Tlirn  Coif  Id!  .lincrica  193 

against  by  taking  your  stand  with  it? 
What  would  Jesus  have  you  do?  Have  you 
done  that?  If  the  world  has  nothing  to 
say  against  you,  Jesus  will  have  nothing  to 
say  for  vou.  His  grace  is  sufficient.  Ask 
Him."   ^ 

That  was  a  message  to  my  lieart.  I  said,  "Lord, 
I  will  go  through  this  shij)  and  give  out  tracts  to 
everyone.  Now,  Lord,  you  bless  every  dear 
heart,  and  open  to  them  the  Gospel." 

As  I  passed  around  the  deck  giving  out  tracts, 
a  man  and  his  wife  asked  what  church  I  belonged 
to.     I  told  them  I  belonged  to 

"The  Church  of  the  First  Born." 

Then  I  told  them  about  the  Pentecostal  people, 
and  how  we  had  received  the  Baptism  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  as  the  people  did  on  the  day  of 
Pentecost,  and  told  them  that  God  was  pouring 
out  His  Spirit  on  the  earth,  and  that  Jesus  was 
coming  again  soon.  They  were  Seventh -Da>' 
Adventist  missionaries  from  Colombia,  Soutli 
America,  coming  home  on  furlough.  They 
had  been  on  the  field  four  years,  but  had  onh' 
been  selling  their  literature.  Nobody  had 
been  saved,  but  they  thought  that  when, 
they  went  back  again  they  would  be  able 
to  do  something,  as  the  people  would  have  an 
understanding  of  their  religion  and  the  keeping 
of  the  Sabbath  Day.  We  could  see  their  li\es 
were  empty,  and  that  they  knew  nothing  al)()ut 
worshiping  God  in  Spirit  and  in  truth. 


194  On  .Mule  Back 

We  had  many  talks  together  about  the  law  of 
Moses  and  the  ten  commandments.  We  showed 
them  we  are  dead  to  the  law  through  the  body  of 
Christ,  and  that  we  should  serve  in  newness  of 
Spirit  and  not  in  the  oldness  of  the  letter.  Oh, 
how  these  dear  hearts  did  respond  to  the  Word 
of  God!  They  had  been  reading  the  many 
different  books  of  their  denomination,  but  did 
not  have  a  Bible.  We  asked  them  to  read  the 
Word  of  God  that  would  bring  Spirit  and  Life 
into  their  lives  and  we  gave  them  a  nice  Bible. 
As  we  separated  in  New  Orleans,  they  took  my 
hand  and  said,  "Thank  God  for  sending  you  on 
this  ship.  We  felt  empty  and  dry,  and  now  we 
know  what  is  the  trouble.  We  shall  read  and 
pray  until  we  are  filled  with  the  blessed  Holy 
Spirit,  and  when  we  return  to  our  mission-field 
we  can  preach  the  Gospel  to  the  people." 

A  family  coming  from  South  America  took 
tracts  and  Testaments  and  called  for  more. 
They  said  they  were  Lutherans,  had  been  raised 
in  that  church,  felt  a  lack  in  their  lives, 
and  wanted  to  have  the  power  and  glory  of  God 
in  their  souls.  They  believed  that  Jesus  was 
coming  soon. 

Every  time  we  went  into  the  parlor  and  sat 
down  we  had  a  congregation,  for  the  poor 
people  were  so  hungry  they  would  come  and  ask 
us  to  tell  them  more  about  this  wonderful  way. 

A  great  hurricane  was  sweeping  the  Gulf.  A 
wireless  message  had  been  received  that  the 
storm  was  terrible,  and  warning  us  to   prepare 


TJini  Central  America  195 

for  it  before  leaving  the  port.  The  blackness 
was  awful  on  the  waters  as  we  went  out.  As  we 
moved  slowly  out  of  the  inner  hari)or,  some  bat- 
tleships were  having  target  practice  at  sea. 
Two  submarines  parth'  submerged,  were  slowly 
moving  along  to  keep  shii)s  from  coming  too 
close  to  where  the  sailors  were  shooting. 

The  Lord  said  to  me,  "J List  as  those  sub- 
marines are  placed  here  to  protect  the  ships 
from  the  shooting,  so  1  will  place  IVIy  angels 
around  this  shiji  and  the  storm  shall  not  molest 
you." 

"Only  believe  and  rest  in  Me." 

The  passengers  were  frightened,  and  the  cap- 
tain gave  orders  to  have  the  storm  doors  and  win- 
dows put  in,  and  the  ship  made  ready  to  meet  the 
terrible  hurricane.  But  on  we  sailed,  and  the 
storm  moved  on  in  front  of  us,  all  the  way  to  New 
Orleans.  Onh'  once  did  we  get  into  it  a  little  for 
a  few  minutes.  The  rain  came  down  in  floods, 
the  wind  blew  with  great  force,  thick  darkness 
settled  down  over  the  ship,  and  we  were  tossed 
by  the  great  waves  that  arose.  Many  became 
sea-sick  and  ran  to  their  staterooms  for  life- 
preservers.  The  captain  gave  orders  to  have 
the  life  boats  in  readiness. 

As  we  passed  into  our  staterooms,  not  to  get 
the  little  cork-and-canvas  life  preservers  that 
were  lying  there,  but  to  get  in  touch  with  the  One 
Great  Life- Preserver,  who  said  He  would  give 
His  angels  charge  over  us,  there  came  into  our 


196  On  Mnic  Back 

he^irts  a  vsweet  rest  and  peace.  After  prayer  we 
arose  and  went  on  deck.  As  I  passed  through 
the  door  I  met  the  captain,  who  said,  "I  have 
been  looking  for  you  and  your  husband,  that  you 
might  pray  for  our  ship  to  be  saved,  as  there  is 
no  other  hope."  He  himself  lifted  up  his  hand 
and  asked  God  to  drive  back  the  storm.  Just 
then  the  blackness  swept  off  the  decks,  the  ship 
straightened  up,  and  the  sun  smiled  down  upon 
us.  Surely  God  giveth  His  angels  charge  over  us, 
that  we  should  not  dash  our  feet  against  a  stone. 

"Hiding  in  Thee,  hiding  in  Thee, 

Thou  blest  Rock  of  Ages,  I'm  hiding  in  Thee." 

From  that  time  on  we  were  sailing  just  be- 
hind the  big  black  hurricane.  A  ship  that  had 
been  following  us  w^as  caught  in  the  storm,  and 
for  three  days  and  nights  they  were  lost  and 
had  no  hope  of  being  saved.  A  young  man 
from  this  ship  rode  on  the  train  with  us  from 
New  Orleans  to  St.  Louis.  He  told  us  of  the 
terrible  things  they  suffered.  How  they  all 
had  life-preservers  on  many  times,  and  w^ere 
ready  to  get  into  the  life-boats,  as  they  thought 
the  ship  would  go  down. 

On  our  ship  every  passenger,  officer  and  mem- 
ber of  the  crew  took  tracts  and  Testaments  and 
read  them.  The  captain  told  us  he  was  glad  to 
have  someone  on  the  shij)  who  knew  how  to 
pray.  On  the  previous  trip  he  brought  some 
women  from  Colon  who  were  dope  fiends.  The 
whole   boat   was   in    a   terrible   uproar    all    the 


'J  lint  Central  .'iiicrica  1*J/ 

way,  and  he  feared  (lod  would  let  I  hem  all  go 
down  for  such  wickedness.  He  himself  knew 
something-  of  the  power  of  God.  He  took  a 
Bible  and  tracts  and  asked  for  some  of  our 
books  for  the  ship's  library.  Shall  we  not  gi\e 
these  men  some  good  books  to  read  at  sea? 

The  gambler,  whom  I  heard  say  Ave  were  al- 
ways talking  about  the  Lord,  came  to  me  and 
said,  "I  want  to  get  some  papers  and  a  Bible. 
I  have  always  l)een  a  wicked  man,  but  since  I 
have  been  on  this  boat  I  have  made  up  my  mind 
to  give  my  heart  to  God  and  live  different."  He 
said  he  had  a  Christian  mother  who  taught  him 
to  kneel  at  her  knee  and  say  his  evening  pra\-er, 
and  he  wanted  to  meet  her  in  Heeiven,  for  he 
knew  she  was  there. 

One  of  the  professors  from  the  Northwestern 
University  was  on  board.  He  had  been  traveling 
through  all  the  Latin-American  countries,  gath- 
ering information  for  the  new  history  he  was 
writing.  He  came  to  talk  with  us,  saying  he  was 
interested  in  mission  work.  We  gave  him  all 
the  information  we  could  about  the  different 
parts  of  the  country  we  had  visited.  He  said, 
"I  know  you  people  have  something  I  ha\en't. 
What  is  it?"  He  was  a  member  of  the  Presby- 
terian church,  and  had  been  since  he  was  a  very 
young  child.  His  father  was  a  minister,  so  he 
had  always  been  brought  up  in  the  church. 

As  we  read  the  Bible  to  him  and  prayed  with 
him,  telling  him  of  the  great  outpouring  of  the 
Spirit  of  God  in  these  last  days,   and   the  soon 


108  On  Mule  Back 

coming  of  Jesus,  he  wept  like  a  child,  and  said 
he  was  ready  for  all  God  had  for  him.  When  he 
returned  to  Chicago  he  would  go  to  a  Pentecostal 
mission,  as  he  knew  this  was  the  truth  of  God. 
He  was  a  very  sweet  spirited  man,  open  to  the 
Spirit  of  the  Lord.  He  took  with  him  many 
tracts  on  the  Baptism  of  the  Spirit  and  the  Second 
Coming  of  Jesus. 

A  young  man,  on  his  way  to  school  in  the 
States,  asked  for  a  Bible,  saying  he  had  never 
seen  one,  but  had  a  great  desire  to  read  one. 
Since  hearing  us  talk  so  much  about  it,  he 
thought  it  must  be  a  wonderful  Book.  He  took 
a  Bible  to  school  with  him,  also  tracts  and  papers. 
He  was  a  native  of  Costa  Rica. 

As  we  were  leaving  the  ship  at  New  Orleans 
people  came  for  more  Testaments  and  tracts 
to  carry  away  with  them.  One  brother  and 
sister,  very  wealthy  people,  traveling  for  pleas- 
ure, took  many  of  the  little  messengers,  the  sis- 
ter saying  that  when  she  reached  her  home  in 
Oklahoma  she  was  going  to  prepare  herself  for 
missionary  work.  She  was  tired  of  the  life 
she  had  been  living,  and  having  seen  the  awful 
need  of  the  Central  American  people,  she  could 
never  be  happy  again  until  she  went  to  help 
them. 

In  New  Orleans  we  gave  out  hundreds  of 
tracts  and  found  many  hungry  souls.  I  vis- 
ited some  of  the  missions  there,  in  search  of 
Pentecostal  people,  but  they  told  us  there  were 
none  there.  Such  a  needy  city!  May  the 
God   of   Heaven    stir   our   hearts   until   we   are 


77;///  C'ciilral  .Inwrica  190 

awakened  and  go  forth  into  every  city  of  the 
Union  with  this  hiessage  of  the  hour,  and  the 
people  are  reached  and  the  I  h)K-  S])iril  is  poured 
out  upon  the  earth. 

On  board  the  train  for  St.  Louis,  we  found 
many  hungry  hearts  read\  for  the  truth,  having 
never  heard  it  before.  In  the  Union  Station, 
St.  Louis,  we  found  others  who  were  hungry. 
They  took  the  tracts  and  went  aw^ay  pleased  to 
have  them.  Even  in  our  ow^n  city  we  found 
people  who  were  eager  to  hear  the  Word  of  God. 
Many  were  the  precious  souls  reached  by  the 
Bread  upon  the  waters,  which  we  freely  cast  forth. 

We  traveled  from  Granite  City,  Illin(jis,  to 
Los  Angeles,  California,  giving  out  tracts  and 
Testaments.  From  Los  Angeles  we  sailed  to 
Central  America  and  gave  out  the  Word  in 
every  port  we  came  to  in  Mexico,  Central 
America  and  Panama.  From  Panama  to  New 
Orleans  and  Granite  City  we  distributed  the 
Word  to  thousands.  We  look  back  over  our 
journey  and  see  a  long  white  line  of  Bread  that 
w^as  cast  upon  the  waters,  reaching  our  home 
in  Granite  City,  where  also  God  is  working. 

"On  the  resurrection  morning,  when  we  rise  to  meet 
our  Lord, 
When  His  glory  and  His  victory  we  shall  share, 
With  un-numbercd  blood-washed  millions  we'll  go 
shouting  through  the  skies. 
And  His  bride  ascends  to  meet  Him  in  the  air. 

"When  the  roll  is  called  up  yonder, 

We'll  be  filled  with  joy  and  wonder, 
When  we  see  the  blood-washed  number; 

Some  from  every  tribe  and  nation  will  hi-  there." 


THE  NEEDS  OF  CENTRAL  AMERICA 

There  is  a  land  not  far  away.  It  lies  on  our 
own  continent.  It  is  a  land  of  tropical  beauty, 
where  cocoanut  palms  wave  their  tall  green 
branches  in  the  breeze,  and  where  flowers  bloom 
the  year  around.  The  banana,  pineapple,  or- 
ange, and  many  other  tropical  trees  and  plants 
yield  their  fruit  in  rich  abundance.  The  chatter 
of  innumerable  parrots  and  the  sweet  songs  of 
many  birds  are  heard  from  the  great  tall  trees 
of  the  forests.  Scantily-clad  brown-faced  boys 
and  girls  run  about.  Seeing  it,  one  is  made  to 
say,  "What  a  beautiful  country!" 

But,  ah!  As  one  advances  inland,  leaving  the 
pretty  harbor  of  Corinto,  on  the  Pacific  coast, 
the  signs  of  the  enemy's  work  are  on  man  and 
beast. 

There  is  desolation  everywhere.  The  poor 
people  are  too  weak  to  withstand  the  strong 
rival  with  whom  they  have  had  to  battle  so 
long.  Homes  are  broken  up.  Mothers  with 
their  little  children  are  crying  for  help.  Their 
cries  are  heard  on  every  side.  Powers  of  dark- 
ness sweep  over  the  whole  country. 

The  poor  are  driven  like  animals  to  the  plan- 
tations to  work  for  a  few  cents  a  day,  not  enough 
to  sustain  life.  They  are  paid  in  advance  for 
the  season's  work.  The  wage  is  so  small  the 
family  soon  spend  it  all.  Then  they  are  arrested 
and  made  to  work  for  what  they  have  already 


77/r;/  Central  .liiwrica  2U1 

received.  Even  mothers  are  put  into  the  coffee 
and  banana  fields  to  work  in  the  hot  sun.  On 
the  poor  tired  women  i^o  with  their  babies 
strapped  to  their  backs  all  day  long,  with  noth- 
ing to  eat  but  a  tortilla  (a  corn  cake  baked 
without  seasoning  (jf  an>^  kind). 

In  the  evening  the  poor  tired  people  make  their 
way  to  their  little  huts,  which  are  made  of  a 
few  sticks  driven  into  the  ground  and  covered 
with  straw  or  palm  leaves.  There  they  grind 
corn  for  tortillas,  the  children  carrying  water  in 
little  buckets  made  of  gourds  that  grow  on  trees, 
or  in  a  jar  made  of  clay.  Their  homes  are  as 
dirty  as  pig-pens,  for  the  animals  live  in  the 
house  with  the  family. 

As  you  travel  through  the  country  you  find 
the  very  poor,  who  live  in  the  mountains,  far 
away  from  the  cities,  often  whole  families, 
without  clothes.  If  they  wear  anything  at  all, 
it  will  be  a  piece  of  cloth  woven  from  grass  pinned 
around  their  bodies  with  a  thorn,  for  they  never 
saw  a  pin  or  button.  J\Iany  boys  and  girls  four- 
teen or  fifteen  years  old  have  never  worn  clothes. 

Both  in  the  cities  and  in  the  country  women 
are  beasts  of  burden,  for  the  women  or  the 
donkeys  furnish  the  transportation,  the  men  do 
not  work  mtich.  The  women  work  in  the 
markets  and  little  stores,  and  carry  great  loads 
of  sugar,  fruit,  water,  etc.,  on  their  heads  in 
the  hot  sun.  The  streets  are  full  of  children 
that  never  were  in  school.  They  grow  up  to  be 
lazy,  fight  with  each  other,  and  steal.     When 


202  On  Mule  Back 

you  have  one  around  who  is  not  saved  you  have 
to  keep  everything  under  lock  and  key. 

More  than  two-thirds  of  the  population  are  of 
illegitimate  birth.  Men  and  women  live  together 
and  raise  families,  yet  are  never  married.  One 
of  the  difficult  things  the  missionary  has  to  do  is 
see  that  they  marry  and  live  clean  lives. 

The  priests  charge  so  much  money  to  perform 
the  ceremony  that  the  poor  cannot  pay  it,  so 
they  live  on  year  after  year  in  this  way;  but 
they  have  to  pay  so  much  to  the  priests  every 
year  to  get  them  to  forgive  their  sin  of  adultery, 
in  that  way  the  Church  of  Rome  gets  more  from 
them  than  they  would  to  marry  them.  The  priests 
prey  upon  the  superstitions  of  the  people  to 
extract  money  from  them  at  all  points.  The 
natives'  religion  is  a  mere  form  of  outward  ex- 
ercises. 

For  over  400  years  the  whole  of  Mexico, 
Central  and  South  America,  as  well  as  the  West 
Indies,  have  been  under  the  heavy  yoke  of 
Romanism.  The  Spaniards  came  into  the  coun- 
try and,  driving  the  natives  at  the  point  of  the 
sword,  baptized  them  into  the  Roman  Church, 
and  took  away  their  language  and  liberty.  They 
compelled  them  to  carry  timber  and  stone  from 
inland  and  build  temples  for  the  Roman  Church. 

In  Leon,  which  is  the  largest  city  of  the  Re- 
public oi  Nicaragua,  and  where  we  have  our 
work,  there  are  between  seventy  and  eighty 
thousand  people  and  forty-two  temples.  And 
when  one  sees  those  old  temples  almost  ready 
to   tumble  down,  and  covered   with    moss  and 


Tlint  Ci'iitrnl  .  I iiirriat 


1(K^ 


I   am  just   a   brown-faced   Indian  girl,   but  I   want  to   learn 

to  read  God's  Word.     Will  you  send  missionaries  to  teach  us? 

There  are  thousands  just  as  I  am. 


Thru  Centra!  .hucrica  205 

grass  ccnturit's  old,  one  levels  lliaL  Ronic  is  cer- 
tainly coming  to  the  end  of  herself  in  these 
countries.  The  people  are  rising  up  now  and 
calling  for  schools,  and  for  freedom  of  the  press, 
and  are  crying,  "Away  with  the  Cliurch!  It 
has  never  done  anything  for  us."  Many  thou- 
sands are  becoming  free-thinkers. 

Nicaragua  is  the  only  Rejoublic  of  Central 
America  that  has  Church  and  State  united.  A 
great  fight  is  now  on  for  their  separation.  There 
are  over  one  million  people  in  this  Republic 
alone  without  the  Gospel.  Let  us  pray  God  to 
speed  the  day  when  these  reforms  shall  be 
wrought  and  the  Gospel  be  given  the  people. 

Nicaragua  saw  her  first  missionary  sixteen 
years  ago.  It  has  been  the  last  of  the  Republics 
to  receive  the  Gospel.  The  persecutions  were 
so  severe  that  the  missionaries  had  to  leave  in 
a  few  weeks.  But,  thank  God !  some  of  the 
people  accepted  the  glad  news  and  have  stood 
true  through  flood  and  flame.  But  there  are 
very  few  missionaries  there  as  yet,  and  thousands 
are  without  the  knowledge  of  a  Savior  who  died 
for  them. 

All  these  countries  are  being  flooded  with  New 
Thought,  Russellism,  Christian  Science,  The- 
osophy,  and  Spiritualism.  Many  are  coming 
into  these  things  now,  for  the  people  are  fast 
turning  from  Romanism.  They  are  like  little 
hungry  birds  with  wide-open  mouths  ready  to 
accept  any  poisonous  tiling  presented.  Are  we, 
the  true  follow^ers  of  Jesus  Christ,  going  to 
sleep  on  and  fail  to  wake  up  to  this  great  ojv 


206  On  Mule  Back 

portunity?  Let  us  go  forth  with  the  old-time 
Gospel  of  Pentecostal  power,  that  will  drive  the 
enemy  from  the  land,  and  give  these  dear  people 
the  truth. 

At  one  place  where  we  were  having  meetings 
the  people  asked  us  why  missionaries  had  not 
come  to  them  before.  They  said,  "We  saw  the 
first  one  sixteen  years  ago,  but  he  was  so  perse- 
cuted he  had  to  leave  us  in  a  few  weeks,  and  only 
a  few  heard  the  Gospel,  and  we  have  been  in 
darkness  for  so  long.  Oh,  if  some  one  had  only 
told  us  before  the  way  of  life!" 

Many  children  were  brought  to  us  to  be  placed 
in  school,  so  that  they  might  learn  to  read  and 
write,  and  study  the  Bible.  But  as  yet  we  have 
been  unable  to  open  a  school.  My  heart  has 
been  torn  as  I  have  seen  the  little  children 
growing  up  in  such  ignorance,  and  especially 
the  young  girls.  This  country,  like  all  other 
countries  without  the  Gospel,  regards  the  women 
and  girls  as  no  more  than  animals,  and  they 
are  the  prey  to  ever^^  horrible  crime  that  any- 
one wishes  to  inflict  upon  them.  The  little 
girls  are  often  sold  into  lives  of  shame  by  their 
parents  for  a  few  dollars.  We  knew  one  mother 
who  sold  her  four  young  daughters.  One  of 
them  found  that  she  was  to  be  sold  so  she  ran 
away  and  hid  in  the  mountains,  but  they  hunted 
until  they  found  her,  then  they  bound  her  and 
carried  her  away,  dripping  with  blood  where  she 
had  been  beaten  with  clubs  and  stoned  with 
stones.  The  man  that  took  her  was,  I  am  sorry 
to  say,  an  American.     "It  is  only  the  precious 


TJint  Central  .Imcrica  207 

Blood  of  Jesus  that  can  change  the  human 
heart,  that  is  deceitful  above  all  things,  and 
desperately  wicked."     Jer.  17:9. 

IVIany  foreigners  have  come  here  for  money, 
and  do  not  care  much  how  they  get  it.  Some 
have  gold  mines,  others  have  plantations,  many 
of  them  are  Americans.  They  are  making 
every  sacrifice  for  the  gold  that  perisheth. 
Shall  not  we,  then,  who  have  the  treasure  of 
Heaven,  break  the  Bread  of  Life  to  these  dear 
hungry  souls  ere  they  perish? 

There  came  to  us  early  one  morning  a  bright- 
faced  Indian  girl  about  thirteen  years  old.  Her 
parents  were  dead,  her  sisters  were  living  lives 
of  shame  and  they  had  driven  the  poor  little 
one  out  from  them.  She  had  been  sleeping  in 
the  markets  and  parks  and  was  crying  in  the 
street.  Some  one  told  her  to  come  to  us  for  we 
were  missionaries  and  we  would  help  her.  She 
said  she  would  be  our  servant  and  do  anything, 
that  she  might  have  a  place  where  she  could  be 
sheltered  from  the  wicked  men.  She  is  only  one 
of  the  many  thousands  that  are  here  in  this  dark 
land  crying  for  some  one  to  help  them.  Unless 
we  take  them  in  they  will  be  destroyed  by  sin. 
Man}^  are  found  dead,  having  been  killed  to 
hide  the  crime  of  some  wicked  person.  It  is  in 
behalf  of  these  suffering  ones  that  this  little 
message  is  sent  on  its  way  in  the  Name  of  Jesus. 

We  are  having  blessed  meetings.  Many  are 
coming  out  to  hear  the  good  news.  Some  have 
already  received  the  Bajotism  of  the  Hoh-  Spirit. 
A  native  brother  that  has  been  saved  has  gone 


208  On  Mule  Back 

out  to  another  place  to  preach,  and  the  power 
of  God  is  falhng.  Several  have  received  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  others  have  been  blessed  in 
soul  and  healed  in  body. 

Soon  after  coming  into  the  country  God  gave 
me  a  vision  of  the  blessed  Latter  Rain  falling  all 
over  Central  America.  So  I  ask  you,  dear  child  of 
the  Lord,  to  pray  that  the  people  in  the  home- 
land will  be  stirred  up  to  come  up  to  the  help  of 
the  Lord  against  the  mighty.  Many  mission- 
aries have  gone  to  China,  Lidia,  Africa,  and  the 
Islands  of  the  Sea,  but  few  have  come  to  this 
country.  Let  us  awake  and  pray  that  the  Lord 
will  send  forth  laborers,  and  that  the  means  will 
be  provided  for  their  support,  and  that  this 
very  needy  land  shall  hear  the  blessed  Gospel 
story.  There  are  a  few  faithful  soldiers  of  the 
cross  laboring  here,  but  the  battle  is  hard  and 
long. 

Some  have  fallen,  and  their  comrades  have 
laid  them  away  on  the  green  hillside  to  await 
their  reward  at  the  coming  of  the  One  who  said : 
"He  that  reapeth  receiveth  wages,  and  gathered 
fruit  unto  life  eternal." — John  4:36. 

But  there  is  a  great  door  open,  and  the  enemy 
is  flooding  in  with  all  sorts  of  implements  of  war. 
There  is  urgent  need  of  more  soldiers  and  sup- 
plies. Just  as  Uncle  Sam  was  able  to  send  men 
and  means  for  the  great  conflict  in  Europe,  and 
so  defeat  the  enemy,  so  our  Captain,  who  never 
lost  a  battle,  is  able  to  send  His  soldiers,  to  de- 
feat the  enemy  and  drive  him  from  the  ranks 


TJuu  Central  .  I  in  erica 


209 


One  Indian  who  found  Jesus  and  loves  his  Bible 


Thru  Central  .Jiiwrica  -11 

and  to  send  great  shoAvers  of  bPessing  iij)()n  the 
dry  and  thirsty  land. 

Just  as  some  returned  from  the  Euroi)ean 
battle-front  to  call  for  help  from  their  country- 
men, so  we  send  out  the  cry  to  our  brothers  and 
sisters  in  Christ  to  let  them  know  the  great  needs 
here,  that  they  may  join  in  a  petition  to  the 
Throne  of  Grace  for  help. 

The  fight  is  on,  the  battle  sound  is  ringing  out, 
The  cry  to  arms  is  heard  afar  and  near, 

The  Lord  of  hosts  is  marching  on  to  victory, 
The  triumph  of  the  right  will  soon  appear. 

The  fight  is  on  O,  Christian  soldier, 

And  face  to  face  in  stern  array. 
With  armor  gleaming  and  colors  streaming. 

The  right  and  wrong  engage  today. 


THE  INDIANS  OF  NICARAGUA 

(Extract  from  Article  by  Brother  Schoenich) 

From  the  time  that  Gil  Gonzaloz  de  Avile 
reached  the  peaceful  shores  of  the  Chontales — 
Nicaragua — penetrating  to  the  borders  of  the 
great  lakes,  the  Indian  has  been  made  to  suffer 
from  the  hands  of  the  so-called  enlightened 
races.  When  the  above  gentleman  set  his  feet 
on  Nicaraguan  soil,  the  land  contained  some 
3,000,000  peaceful  and  industrious  Indians.  In 
less  than  ten  years  2,500,000  of  them  had  per- 
ished in  battle,  were  worked  to  death  in  the 
mines,  or  had  starved  in  the  mountain  fast- 
nesses. 

In  1529  the  Indians  revolted,  and  after  six 
terrible  battles,  the  Spaniards  succeeded  in  de- 
feating them;  the  Indian  chiefs  were  thrown  to 
bloodhounds,  who  tore  them  to  pieces.  The 
masses  were  subjected  to  heavy  tributes  and  se- 
vere tasks,  and  were  driven  like  cattle  by  their 
cruel  conquerors.  Whoever  resisted  was  ruth- 
lessly tortured,  towns  that  rebelled  were  de- 
stroyed and  the  people  put  to  the  sword.  The 
Indians  were  reduced  to  the  most  abject  slavery, 
their  property  was  taken,  and  they  were  branded 
like  cattle  with  hot  irons.  This  cruel  practice 
prevailed  for  years,  and  the  miserable  remnant 
of  Indians  who  were  still  permitted  to  live, 
moistened  their  native  soil  with  their  bloody 
sweat,  or  dragged  otit  a  painful  existence  in  the 


TliKK  Central  .luicrica  213 

mines  or  gold  placers.  Coffee,  rubber,  sugar  and 
cocoa  were  not  then  sought  as  today. 

In  ISIO,  when  the  hrst  movement  toward 
freedom  began  to  be  realized,  an  impartial  ob- 
server unhesitatingly  estimated  the  entire  ab- 
original population  of  the  country  at  about 
90,000  souls.  The  real  Indian  is  fast  going  out  of 
existence.  The  Ladinos,  a  class  of  mixed  Span- 
ish and  Indian,  soon  ma>^  be  all  that  is  left  of  the 
Indian. 

A  fear  of  the  white  man  has  been  planted  in 
the  Indian  by  these  things.  This  makes  it  hard 
for  the  missionary.  When  one  visits  their  \il- 
lages,  the  children  and  women  run  and  hide,  and 
sometimes  the  men  too.  Only  when  one  is  well 
acquainted  will  they  show  friendliness.  To 
reach  them,  a  missionary  must  live  among  them, 
show  them  love  and  kindness  and  prove  by  word 
and  deed  that  they  are  their  friends,  and  desire 
to  bring  them  to  the  true  light  of  our  Savior 
Jesus  Christ. 

These  poor  Indians  are  much  o])i)resse(l.  A 
planter  will  make  a  contract  with  a  man  for  him- 
self and  oftentimes  his  woman  or  wife  (they  are 
seldom  married)  and  all  his  children,  to  pick 
coffee,  etc.,  giving  him  money  on  the  contract 
for  his  living.  When  the  planter  is  ready  this 
man  and  his  family  must  appear  and  work, 
gathering  the  crop,  receiving  twelve  to  twenty 
cents  per  day.  If  he  does  not  appear,  soldiers 
are  sent  after  him,  and  he  is  brought  at  the  i)oint 
of  the  bayonet  with  his  hands  tied  behind  him 


214  On  Mule  Back 

and  made  to  work  until  his  debt  is  paid.  The 
contract  may  be  made  as  far  as  twelve  months 
ahead,  and  likely  the  man  has  used  up  all  that 
his  contract  calls  for.  He  then  seeks  work  else- 
where, or  even  contracts  himself  to  another 
planter. 

I  know  a  man  who  has  been  trying  for  four  or 
five  years  to  get  free  from  his  "patron,"  as  the 
planter  is  called.  Because  he  is  a  good  worker 
the  planter  will  not  release  him  unless  he  pays 
four  or  five  times  more  than  he  owes.  The  man 
is  interested  in  the  Gospel.  We  are  praying 
God  to  liberate  him  and  make  him  a  true  servant 
for  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

May  God  help  the  Church  of  Christ  to  awake 
to  see  the  awful  condition  of  these  people,  who 
are  also  compelled  to  pay  their  church  dues  by 
law  and  Ijy  force.  I  know  a  woman  who  was 
back  in  her  church  dues.  They  took  all  that  she 
had,  which  was  a  few  chickens. 

Friend,  will  you  not  take  these  dear  people  on 
your  heart  in  prayer  and  intercession?  God  can 
and  does  save  poor  Indians.  We  have  seen  His 
work  in  the  lives  of  some.  Brother,  Sister, 
awake!  Our  Lord  is  at  hand,  and  what  is  done 
must  be  done  quickly.  "Whatsoever  He  saith 
unto  you,  do  it." 

There  is  also  a  remnant  of  Indians  in  remote 
parts  of  the  Republic  known  as  the  Suma  and 
Mosquito  tribes.  These  Indians  have  not  come 
under  the  influence  of  the  Church  of  Rome. 
They  do  not  speak  the  Spanish  language.    There 


Thru  Ccniral  .Inicrica  215 

is  more  English  than  Spanish  spoken  among 
them.  For  more  than  half  a  century  the  Mora- 
vian missionaries  have  worked  among  them. 
They  have  several  missions  and  churches  scat- 
tered along  the  Atlantic  coast,  and  up  some  of 
the  large  rivers.  The  Moravian  Mission  has 
translated  the  New  Testament  into  the 
Mosquito  language. 


'WHERE   IS  THE  WHITE  MAN'S   BOOK 
OF  HEAVEN?" 

In  1831,  four  Indian  chiefs  from  Idaho  made 
their  way  over  the  Rockies  and  were  found  on 
the  streets  of  St.  Louis,  asking,  "Where  is  the 
white  man's  Book  of  Heaven?" 

General  Clark  befriended  them,  took  them 
around  the  city,  where  they  were  shown  every- 
thing of  interest,  and  they  were  treated  with  the 
utmost  kindness.  Finally  two  of  the  chiefs  fell 
ill  and  died,  and  when  the  remaining  Indians 
were  preparing  to  return  to  their  own  tribes,  the 
general  gave  a  feast  for  them.  At  the  banquet, 
in  a  farewell  address  to  General  Clark  and 
friends,  one  of  the  two  Indians  poured  forth  his 
burden  of  sorrow  in  words  of  pathetic  eloquence, 
as  follows : 

"I  came  to  you  over  the  trail  of  many  moons 
from  the  setting  sun.  I  came  with  an  eye 
partly  open  for  my  people,  who  sit  in  great 
darkness,  but  I  go  back  with  both  eyes  closed. 
How  can  I  go  back  blind  to  my  blind  people? 
I  made  my  way  to  you  with  strong  arms,  through 
many  enemies,  and  through  strange  lands,  that 
I  might  carry  back  to  my  people  much  knowl- 
edge, for  my  people  sent  me  to  get  the  white 
man's  Book  of  Heaven. 

"You  took  me  to  see  many  strange  things,  and 
to  places  where  you  allow  your  women  to  dance. 


Thru  Central  America 


217 


An  Indian  woman  whose  attention  was  attracted  and  picture 
taken  without  her  knowledge.    Indians  are  very  superstitious 
and  are  afraid  to  have  their  pictures  taken. 


Tlirit  Central  .liiicrica  219 

as  we  do  not  ours;  but  the  Book  was  not  there, 
and  now  we  ai'e  goint;  back  the  loni^:  trail  to  our 
people  in  the  dark  land.  You  make  my  feet 
heavy  with  many  gifts,  and  nn*  moccasins  will 
grow  old  carrying  them,  but  the  Book  is  not 
among  them.  What  shall  I  do?  Shall  my 
people  die  in  darkness?  When  I  go  to  them, 
without  the  white  man's  Book  of  Heaven,  and 
tell  them  I  could  not  get  it,  they  will  rise  uj),  one 
by  one,  and  go  out,  to  return  no  more,  for  it  is 
for  that  Book  that  they  ha\'e  been  awaiting  my 
return.  How  can  I  return  to  my  people  with- 
out the  Book?" 

It  is  said  that  the  city  was  searched  for  a 
Bible  in  this  man's  language,  but  there  was  none 
to  be  found,  and  the  Indians  went  their  way. 
This  incident  was  told  in  a  Methodist  Episcopal 
conference,  and  an  appeal  was  made  for  some 
to  carry  the  Gospel  to  the  Indians.  Two  young 
men  just  starting  in  the  ministry  were  present, 
and  they  arose  and  said  the}^  would  go.  They 
married  two  lovely  young  women,  and 
loaded  an  ox-wagon  with  their  belongings  and 
with  Bibles  translated  into  the  language  of  the 
Indians  to  whom  they  were  going.  Many 
weeks  of  strenuous  travel  passed  before  they 
reached  their  destination  with  the  white  man's 
Book  of  Heaven. 

The  first  two  white  women  to  cross  the 
Rockies  were  these  tw(j  young  brides,  with  their 
husbands.  They  spent  their  lives  preaching 
the  Gospel  to  the  Indians,  hundreds  of  whom 


220  0)1  Mule  Back 

were   brought    to    Jesus    through    this    faithful 
ministry. 

Shall  we  not  learn  a  great  lesson  from  this 
story?  Shall  we  not,  with  all  our  modern  con- 
veniences and  greater  opportunities,  rise  up  and 
get  the  message  to  the  great  masses  of  humanity 
before  Jesus  comes? 

One  time,  while  preaching  to  a  large  crowd  of 
natives  in  Central  America,  I  told  them  of  the 
great  love  of  God,  and  how  He  had  saved  us, 
and  put  His  great  love  in  our  hearts  which  was 
why  we  were  there  to  preach  to  them  and  tell 
them  of  that  love.  When  I  finished,  an  old  man 
arose.  He  said  he  was  eighty-four  years  old, 
and  this  was  the  first  time  he  had  heard  the 
Gospel.  Then  he  asked,  "How  long  have  you 
people  of  the  United  States  known  of  this  won- 
derful love  of  God?"  I  answered  that  we  had 
always  known  of  Jesus,  that  thousands  knew  of 
Him,  and  were  serving  Him,  and  that  I  had  been 
saved  about  fifteen  years.  The  old  man  then 
asked  why,  if  we  had  known  of  this  great  Savior 
so  long,  we  had  not  come  sooner  to  tell  his 
people  about  Him,  for  all  his  relatives  had  died, 
and  had  never  heard  the  Gospel.  He  continued, 
"If  I  had  known  this  Gospel  and  the  wonderful 
love  and  power  of  God  to  save  us  from  all  sin, 
and  if  you  had  known  nothing  of  it,  I  would 
have  come  to  you." 

When  I  began  to  make  preparations  to  leave 
their  village  they  held  on  to  my  dress  and  to  my 
arms,  begging  me  not  to  leave  them,  with  no 


Tlint  Central  Aiiwrica  221 

one  to  teach  them  about  the  Biljle,  and  they 
would  not  let  me  go.  Finall\-  I  had  to  pull  ni>'- 
self  from  them  and  go  for  my  train.  As  far 
down  the  track  as  I  could  see,  those  dear 
ones  were  waving  and  calling  me  to  return 
to  them.  Even  now  I  can  see  those  beckoning 
hands  and  hear  those  voices  calling,  although  I 
am  now  far  away  in  my  homeland. 

What?  Shall  they  i)erish  without  knowing 
of  God's  great  love  and  of  His  power  and  willing- 
ness to  bless  them  and  lift  them  up  from  the 
awful  darkness  of  sin  and  idolatry  which  they 
are  in?  I  wish  my  readers  might  get  a  peep  into 
the  land  where  the  true  God  is  unknown,  and 
where  there  are  no  Bibles  to  guide  the  people 
into  the  right  path,  I  am  sure  they  would  give, 
and  so  help  others,  who  have  been  called,  to  go. 


222  On  Mule  Back 

Do  You  Know  What  I  Would  Do  ? 

If  you  had  been  born  in  a  distant  land, 

Far  over  the  deep  wide  sea; 
If  you  had  been  born  on  a  foreign  strand, 

And  I,  in  America  free  ? 
If  you  were  I,  and  I  were  you, 
Do  you  know  what  I  would  do? 

If  you  had  been  born  with  a  swarthy  skin. 
And  people  looked  on  you  with  scorn: 

While  I  know  nothing  is  black  but  sin. 

And  the  soul  may  be  white  as  the  lily  at  morn; 

If  I  had  a  chance  to  uplift  you, 

Do  you  know  what  I  would  do? 

If  you  were  an  orphan,  and  homeless  too, 
And  never  had  heard  of  the  Lord; 

While  I  had  been  taught  from  earliest  days 
To  love  and  obey  His  Word ; 

If  you  were  poor,  and  ignorant  too, 

Do  you  know  what  I  would  do? 

I  would  save  my  pennies  and  nickels  and  dimes. 

And  send  them  over  the  sea; 
That  you  might  be  fed  and  clothed  and  taught. 

To  worship  the  God  who  is  dear  to  me; 
If  you  were  I,  and  I  were  you. 
That  is  just  what  I  would  do. 

I  would  tell  all  the  boys  and  girls  around 

Just  what  I  was  working  for,  too; 
And  I'd  never  give  up  till  I  got  them  to  help 

To  send  you  the  Gospel  true; 
If  you  were  I,  and  I  were  you. 
That  is  just  what  I  would  do. 


^/  ^                                 THE  LIBRARY 
/r^J                UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
/r  q                                    Santa  Barbara 

/W^     STACK  COLLECTION 

THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW. 

MAY  1 81999 
IRETO  APR  2  8 1999 

30»n-8,'65  (F6447S4)  9482 


ur,  snuTHF  HN  RrriifiNAi  i  ihhahy  i  acii  ity 


AA    000  917  906    0 


I 


